Throne of the North

The majestic Wing Canyon is not just a canyon that is two or three hundred meters wide.

This is the most powerful fortress in the north and east of the empire's defense. Walking on the wide fortress streets, Ryan didn't know how to imagine that this fortress would be breached.

Perhaps, only the power of the gods can do it.

The fortress of the Wing Canyon is very large. The surface and interior of the fortress are filled with dense magic patterns and various methods that Ryan can't understand. The troops and extraordinary legions stationed in it make Ryan and the surrounding soldiers amazed.

"That's the Empire's violent elephant legion."

Ryan looked at the distance, the five-meter-tall violent elephant covered with weapons, and couldn't help but envy.

Creatures like elephants are always mild-tempered, but violent elephants are an exception. They think about destroying things for three or four months a year. In war, the horror of these guys is no less than the despair brought by dragons.

Of course, Ryan did not see the flying dragon cavalry in the Wing Canyon. That was the most powerful extraordinary army in this fortress. The mounts of the flying dragon cavalry were all subspecies of dragons, monsters called flying dragons. Each of them, when grown up, could kill the frost python monsters found in Ryan's territory.

It is said that this kind of mount was bred by dragons and some flying monsters within the empire, which involved many unknown extraordinary means, even divinity.

As a team with nobles in person, the Wing Canyon did not dare to exploit the good things in Ryan's team, especially the fine wine brewed by the people of Exner, which made them a little envious.

After leaving the Wing Canyon and passing through the long canyon passage, the endless sky and earth, the vast wilderness, and the obviously warm weather in front of him made Ryan truly feel the gap between the North Wind Province and the land of the empire.

"No wonder the Empire has always been indifferent to the land of the North Wind Province."

"With such land, what is the North Wind Province?"

Ryan looked ahead. There were even some wastelands on both sides of the wide road. These lands should be reclaimed for farming.

But it seems that the garrison in the Wing Canyon here, or the nobles nearby, do not think that this place is fertile.

They have better land.

"We have already stepped into the territory of the Danube Province. It is said that agate is rich here and sold throughout the Empire and the South. The reason why those chambers of commerce appeared in the North Wind Province in the past was largely because they came to the Danube Province to purchase agate and went to the North Wind Province by the way."

"But this is still not considered the south of the Empire. The Empire has more than 20 provinces. The Danube Province has not been despised because of the existence of agate."

"The nobles here are still very rich."

Ryan did not intend to visit the nobles here, but when he passed by the Count Pascal family in this province, he couldn't help but stop.

The Count Pascal family, an ancient family that ranks among the top in the empire, has an unimaginable background because they have an extraordinary army that is famous throughout the south.

"The Stone Winged Beast Army, also known as the Gargoyle Army, is naturally immune to the existence of magic factors. When the Church still had authority in the empire, the Count Pascal family was the closest to the Church because the Church believed that the Count family accepted the will of the Lord of Dawn and controlled those gargoyles."

"That is the incarnation of angels in the world."

The former Pascal family was of course a dazzling existence, and even now it has not declined because of the Gargoyle Army.

Ryan expressed his intentions to the Count Family as a noble. The two sides did not have too many encounters and exchanges. In short, Ryan was able to successfully pass through this not-so-large Earl's territory.

Ryan didn't know what resources the Gargoyle Army needed, but at least... they shouldn't need to eat so much food.

After passing through the Danube Province, Ryan arrived at the southern land of the empire. The gap between here and the North Wind Province is even greater. Even in winter, many crops are still growing on the ground.

Ryan knew why. The reason why the empire had the courage and confidence to break with the Church and start the struggle between theocracy and monarchy, and succeeded, was that the most important part was that the great nobles of the empire joined those extraordinary people to come up with wheat seeds that can grow in winter.

Let the people of the empire have more food, and the empire can certainly make them give up their faith in the Church.

No one knows how many people died in the struggle between theocracy and monarchy. In short, the empire succeeded and almost became one of the two choices for all the nobles in the whole south.

This province called Volga is also one of the three provinces in the empire that have a large number of qualifications to brew wine. Thanks to the difficulty of transporting grain, it is better to turn the grain that will be consumed on the road into fine wine.

After passing through the Volga Province and two more provinces, Ryan finally came to the heart of the empire, the Calais Province.

The Calais Province has the most vast and extensive mountain range in the empire, the Calais Mountains, and the Clayton family is in this province.

Two provinces to the west of the Calais Province is the imperial capital province of the empire, and one province to the west is the most prosperous west coast of the empire.

And two or three provinces to the north, you can also face the northern border.

The Earl Clayton family owns a large area of ​​land here, and the castle where the Clayton family is located is really a city and fortress in the literal sense.

This is a city that can accommodate 100,000 people and is also a fortress. The original Clayton ancestor relied on this fortress to kill a fire dragon, and the Clayton family was also called the Dragon Slayer Family.

But all this glory that can be boasted has nothing to do with Ryan, because he is now also a baron. He represents Ryan Clayton, and is also the Baron Ryan, the lord of the frozen land.

The glory of the Clayton family does not belong to the Ryan family. Everything he has needs to be created by himself, so Ryan was still very surprised to get the dragon heart before.

He is a nobleman, and Clayton is also a nobleman. The two sides only have a difference in title, but no absolute relationship between the upper and lower.

This is the difference that should have appeared, but it is obvious that the Clayton family is too powerful. In the eyes of this earl family, even if the children of the nobles who have separated from the family are not qualified to sit on an equal footing with Clayton.

At least this is the fact. Ryan himself does not think there is anything wrong. If he really lets him sit with his father, the legendary knight, he is really a little panicked.

The aura that Kaz unconsciously revealed before was like that. How terrifying the legendary knight must be.

When Ryan arrived at the Flame Dragon Castle, Clayton did not greet him with a big fanfare. Only some descendants of the Clayton family appeared, curiously or playfully looking at the Clayton family bloodline that was thrown to the edge of the North Wind Province.

"Ryan, my child, you are finally back."

"The North Wind Province is bitterly cold, you must have suffered a lot."

A gorgeous woman took Ryan's hand worriedly, looking here and there.

"Mother."

Ryan respectfully performed the etiquette of the nobility. The woman in front of him, Ellie Fleming, was not his biological mother.

The Flame Dragon bloodline of the Clayton family is very strong. It is for this reason that the earls of the Clayton family will have two or even three wives, each of whom is a recognized wife, not a lover or something like that.

After all, it is difficult for a woman to bear the power of the Clayton family, and this is also a rule recognized by the empire and even by the former church and unique to the Clayton family.

In other words, it was the condition that both sides had in order to win the support of a dragon slayer.

Of course, only Earl Clayton can do this, and those nobles who were separated from the Clayton family, such as Ryan, cannot do so.

Their illegitimate children other than those born by their wives are not recognized. Similarly, except for the children born by the two wives who are now recognized, Earl Clayton’s other children are not recognized.

As for whether there are any... Ryan thinks there should be none.

There are many nobles in the empire who want to marry a third wife for their father, but they did not agree. Does it mean that the earl himself is not a stud?

Although... the two ladies of the earl's family are either giving birth or on the way to giving birth.