Throne of the North.

Chapter 812 Brady Canyon

The towering armored bear crossed the trench, slamming a group of soldiers to the ground before heading south.

Behind them, Count Jinze's knight guard glanced at him, gritted his teeth, and followed.

If the count could be saved, that would be the best outcome. Countess Kanazawa was already safe once she entered the Kingdom of Coran, and besides, he didn't want to actually start a war.

The situation in the noble territories is already difficult enough.

Less than half an hour after leaving the Kingdom of Coran and heading south, the armored bear Volibear at the forefront became agitated, roaring as it surveyed its surroundings.

Bogeld, perched on the armored bear's back, also became alert and noticed the changes in his surroundings.

On the vast land, weeds grew wildly, and trees grew irregularly on this roadless land. A faint mist hung over the ground, bringing a gloomy and cold feeling.

Under such circumstances, the army of Earl of Kanazawa was able to successfully reach the border of the Kingdom of Coran.

Bogeld glanced back at the knight of Count Kanazawa.

How did you manage to cross this land?

The knight named Harlan was urged to come forward, and was shocked to see the surrounding land shrouded in mist.

“When we arrived, none of these things existed.”

Upon hearing this, Bogeld understood.

"It seems that this is the change brought about by the influence of the abyss on the Norris continent."

Beside him, an armored bear warrior drew his short sword and cleaved it through a tree as thick as a thigh, tearing the trunk apart. From within came a shrill roar, and at the same time, a swirling breath formed a demonic silhouette around the tree, which then dissipated after a moment.

"The entire army is on alert!"

The sound of weapons being drawn brought a sense of security, but Harlan also became tense.

"How could this have happened?"

Bogeld didn't care about any of that nonsense; she only cared about the war, so she asked again:
Where is Brady Canyon?

"Keep walking forward from here for a while, and when you can no longer see any trees, you've arrived."

Boom! ! !
The armored bear charged forward, causing the earth to tremble. It roared and tore through the fog before it, smashing the evil aura within with unstoppable force. These abyssal powers, which did not even have a physical form, could not hinder the extraordinary legion at all.

Trees snapped and collapsed in front of the armored bear until no more trees could be seen, and what was visible to the naked eye was a gentle downward slope.

Brady Canyon is not a canyon in the strict sense; rather, it is a geographical feature resembling a canyon, created by the abrupt difference in elevation between its southern and northern sides.

Standing on high ground, everyone could see the battlefield they hadn't heard any sounds from before. The canyon above and inside was teeming with humans, and their enemies were also humans.

“A few months ago, a faith called the Abyss Church appeared. Those believers, dressed in purple-black robes, went around preaching, saying that the end times were coming and the world would fall into the abyss. The great Abyss Lord would save insignificant humans from the disaster of the end times.”

"The missionaries and priests of the Dawn Church were massacred, and at the same time, many disasters occurred on this land: plague, floods, collapses, droughts, and the loss of life to crops."

"The Church of the Abyss has become terrifying in just one month."

"The Earl sent people to suppress them, but the power of those Abyss Church followers is terrifying. We asked the Dawn Church for help, but the message went unanswered. The Holy Mountain did not respond at all, and even the priests of the Dawn Church did not know what had happened."

"When the imperial army arrived, they learned that the empire and the papacy were at war."

"The Earl has joined forces with many nobles to try to kill these Abyss worshippers. No one knows better than us how terrifying the power of those evil gods in the Abyss is."

"But it was too late. The Abyss Church had somehow managed to convert a portion of the nobles into their followers. On the very first day the allied forces were formed, internal strife and chaos broke out. After that, they were unable to organize a large-scale army to suppress the unrest."

"The Earl can only unite with the other noble territories around him to fight against the Abyss Believers."

"The Earl said that the Dawn Church and the Empire will never allow the faith of the Abyss to erode the land of the Dawn Lord. They will send their troops sooner or later. We only need a pillar of support, so we plan to go to the Kingdom of Coran."

"When we left the territory and headed north, these Abyss servants caught up with us. Those damned peasants in the earldom have all become servants of the Abyss."

Under pressure from Bogeld, Harlan finally told the whole truth, and in the end, he was filled with resentment.

They took away most of the population from the Earl of Kanazawa's territory, leaving a small number behind, indicating that the area was still under the control of the Kanazawa nobles. As a result, those people became servants of the Abyss.

Yes, at this moment, the two armies on the battlefield are clearly divided. The humans, who have the upper hand, have obviously come to believe in a certain being, or rather, a certain group, from the abyss.

A faint black light emanated from the depths of their pupils, and even in this cold environment, the thin, shirtless servants showed no fear of the cold.

Moreover, among them, a small number of people wearing the robes of the Abyss Cult also exuded a strong abyssal aura. They had obtained the power of the Abyss, which was the source of the armored bear's tension. It seemed that beneath the bodies of those humans, there was some terrifying behemoth.

Bogeld's expression became somewhat hesitant.

The battlefield was right in front of her. The servants of the abyss were clearly different from normal humans, but she didn't know whether she should rush over.

The doubts do not stem from the present moment.

"If there are too many casualties, I'll definitely be locked up again and not allowed to come out."

Bogeld was incredibly conflicted. She still remembered how, during the war between the Frozen Territory and the Orcs, the Armored Bear Legion suffered such heavy losses that she couldn't bring the Armored Bears to the battlefield for several years afterward. Boss Ryan was too awful, making her miss so many exciting battles.

She didn't want to fight a war and then have to go back to the frozen tundra and be imprisoned for several years; that would be too unbearable.

"Or... should we wait for them to fight to the death?"

……

Inside Brady Canyon.

There are six noble families and their armies here. Of course, the quality of all the soldiers is uneven, and they are even quite weak. Many of the soldiers are people who can't even get enough to eat in their own territories, and they are now forced to become servants of the abyss.

The reason they were no match for the army of Abyssal servants was not only because the enemy had been invaded by Abyssal power, but also because their soldiers might suddenly have their souls corrupted by the Abyss and become their followers.

Then they'll turn around and stab you in the back. Countless times like this have happened in the wars of this period.

The reason they were able to hold on was that the nobles still had their foundation. Everyone was afraid of the power of the abyss, but hope still existed in the despair of fear, which gave the army courage.

Furthermore, Count Kanazawa was a capable nobleman, not a parasite among the nobility. At the very first moment of the war, he decisively distributed food to his people.

For the nobles, the most important food they carried was enough to last them for hundreds of years, but when distributed to the soldiers, it became the biggest factor in boosting morale.

In addition, Earl Kanazawa persuaded several other nobles to make a knight without a noble title the supreme commander of the Brady Canyon noble alliance.

That person wasn't even a follower of Count Kanazawa; he came from another great noble family, Count Lurie.

This was a capable man, one that the nobles, while dissatisfied, also acknowledged, especially given the current situation. They were even struggling to break out; the Abyss servants, or rather, the Abyss cultists who controlled them, seemed intent on surrounding them, letting the power of the Abyss corrupt their souls and turn them into followers of the Abyss. Driven by the despair of their souls being condemned to eternal damnation, the noble alliance unleashed an unusual fighting spirit.

“Zakaria, is there any other way? All your solutions are to hold the line. We’ve almost made Brady Canyon our home, but we shouldn’t be here, and neither should the noble lords.”

Deep within the canyon, in a warm, enormous cavern, lies the command post, jointly established by knights and mages. It was only during the war in Brady Canyon that the nobles were astonished to discover how incredibly convenient construction was for extraordinary humans.

At this moment, in the cave where the dozen or so people were, most of them were putting pressure on one of the young knights.

"We must get out of here immediately."

“I know, Mr. Garrett, but we cannot defeat those Abyss minions right now. A short victory will not rid us of them, because we still need to travel more than ten kilometers to reach the border of the Kingdom of Coran after leaving Brady Canyon.”

"This distance is enough for the Abyss servants to catch up."

"Our only option now is to hold our ground. Those minions influenced by the will of the abyss attack like wild beasts, but they cannot break through our defenses. If we hold out long enough, we will find an opportunity."

Many people were outraged upon hearing this answer.

"Zakaria!"

"Don't forget, the noble lord made you a commander so that you could win this war, not so that we could hide in caves like rats!"

"You must come up with a way to win. We must reach the Kingdom of Kolan as soon as possible and spread the word about what's happening here!"

Hearing such a question, Zakaria, who had been under immense pressure lately, also became angry.

"Don't I want to? But I already said that we must leave Brady Canyon as soon as possible and head to the highlands to the north. Once we reach the highlands, we can leave the army behind to hold off the Abyss Minions' pursuit. No matter how tireless they are, they can't defeat an army by attacking from below and from above. But you rejected my proposal!"

"What are you trying to do, Zakaria? This is the noble lord's decision. Are you questioning him?"

The noise was quite loud and attracted the attention of those outside.

"What happened?"

A middle-aged man dressed in golden aristocratic attire appeared majestically in the cave, and everyone fell silent, calling out respectfully.

"Lord Kanazawa".

Behind the count, several other nobles appeared. This scene was rare, but it was not uncommon during this period. The nobles were also hesitant about this war that concerned their lives and fortunes.

“Sir, Zakaria dared to question your orders, saying that it was because of your orders that we were trapped in Brady Canyon.”

Someone shouted, their voice filled with anger. The nobleman also looked at Zakaria with displeasure, but the latter remained silent, unable to confront or refute the nobleman.

"this matter……"

"It was indeed our mistake at the time."

Count Kanazawa's words shocked everyone, but just because the count said it was okay didn't mean they should believe it.

After Count Kanazawa finished speaking, he said nothing more. In fact, the nobles themselves naturally knew why, and they also knew that Zakaria's suggestion was correct.

The problem is their belongings.

They left their territory with immense determination and courage. To put it bluntly, their ability to make such a bold and decisive decision is enough to earn them a prominent place in their family's history.

However, they could not leave the family's accumulated wealth of hundreds of years within their territory, allowing those Abyss servants or others to reap the benefits for free. Therefore, they took it with them. This was all the family's wealth, and if it were lost, it would still be a significant part of their history.

Hoping for a lucky break, they decided to take this wealth to the Kingdom of Coran, but in Brady Canyon, it became a burden.

The end result is the current situation.

"Zakaria, is there really no other way?"

"We can't stay stuck here forever."

As the monarch of the Zakaria Knights, Count Lure frowned and asked, also dissatisfied that he had given Zakaria great power, yet still could not change the current situation.

"Master, our strength is insufficient to completely defeat the minions of those abyssal servants, perhaps..."

Zakaria gritted his teeth and said:
"Why don't we stay here and fight to the death to stop those Abyss servants? You and the other gentlemen should leave here first and go to the Kingdom of Kolan for help. As long as the Kingdom of Kolan's reinforcements arrive, we can survive."

Hearing this, many people were tempted.

"This is a solution."

"No."

Count Lu Rui and Count Jin Ze spoke almost simultaneously.

"Ergen, what do you mean?"

Lu Rui looked at Earl Jinze and addressed him by his name, clearly showing his dissatisfaction.

“If we leave, a large number of slaves and civilians in Brady Canyon will become servants of the Abyss. Zakaria will definitely not be able to hold out until the arrival of the Kingdom of Coran’s reinforcements.”

"So, according to you, our safety isn't important?"

"Of course it's important."

Count Kanazawa looked at the other person, his gaze turning cold.

“However, we have never worried about our safety. All the high-ranking knights are with us. Even if we lose the war, we can still escape alive, can’t we, Earl Lurie?”

"Your territory has three Sky Knights and numerous Gold Knights. Escaping will be no problem for you at all."

"It's just that I left you here with me."

Upon hearing this, the nobles fell silent. They had been leisurely enjoying themselves, and that was indeed the reason. With their high-level supernatural power and the presence of a grand mage by Earl Jinze's side, they were certain they could escape no matter what.

"Zakaria."

“If you can help us win the victory at Brady Canyon, I can promise you that you will become the first lord of the Earldom of Lure and a nobleman.”

"But we can't just stay here and hold out."

Count Kanazawa looked at Zakaria and spoke these words amidst the shocked, envious, and jealous gazes of the latter and those around him. Count Lure, Zakaria's monarch, remained silent at this moment. Clearly, they had already discussed this before coming.

(End of this chapter)