Chapter 393 The Emperor’s Declaration, the Baron’s Preparation
In late autumn, when snow was falling in the north, Emperor Flor held a meeting with the great nobles in the imperial capital.

Winter is coming, and every time the orcs go south, it is during this period, because the orcs need to plunder food from humans and also need to reduce their own population in order to survive the cold winter.

The invasion of the orcs has increased the pressure on the empire, and the emperor needs to be prepared for the even more terrible war that is coming.

“There is a war in the north. We will never allow the orcs to enter the Empire’s territory even once!”

“We want to let everyone on the Norris Continent see the power of the empire. We can replace the Church and become the leader of mankind. Under the great light, the future of the empire is as bright as the stars!”

The emperor’s unquestionable voice echoed majestically inside the palace, followed by the emperor’s request to the nobles to send troops.

The great nobles had no objection to this matter, as they were staunch opponents of the Holy See. However, some nobles still had many doubts based on this matter.

“What about the south? Although the Vatican has withdrawn its troops, their missionaries are still in Qianhu Province, bewitching your people.”

The emperor already had the answer, and said:
“I will let the will of light disperse the followers of the Dawn, and the Church will not succeed.”

“Where’s Xihai?”

Grand Duke Meyers spoke openly, and many nobles looked at him, not understanding what the Grand Duke meant.

The emperor was also silent for a moment, then said:
“I will let Volvo rebuild a new imperial fleet and prevent those evil sea monsters from invading the imperial waters. At the same time, this is also a test for him.”

One of the three electors of the empire, no one knows who will eventually become the new emperor, but before that, the test of the electors is inevitable, because one of them will rule the most powerful country in the world in the future.

Archduke Meyers was silent for a long time and stopped talking. He wanted to obtain this qualification, but it was obvious that the emperor would not hand over the new naval fleet to him. Even if he gave it to an archduke, the probability of Archduke Fleming was greater than him.

“if……”

A nobleman spoke up. It was Earl William. His skin was pale and bloodless. He spoke with some doubt.

“What if the orcs are also stronger than they were a hundred years ago?”

“We may not be able to defend against them from our fortress in the north. What should we do then?”

“Are you going to ask for help from the lands to the south?”

“Absolutely impossible!”

The emperor was furious and told Count William the consequences he had mentioned.

“The Empire will not fail!”

“Even if the fortress in the northern province is breached, the Empire has the ability to reclaim the land and will never ask for help from the Kingdom that serves the Dawn.”

“William, don’t forget your family’s oath.”

“I haven’t forgotten that the William family can’t become believers of the Dawn. We just want to know why Your Majesty the Emperor didn’t send the Knights Templar to the North.”

Count William stared at the emperor and said this almost in a questioning tone.

Indeed, if Count Pascal of the Danube Province is the noble most likely to defect to the Vatican among the nobles within the empire, then the vampire Count who is in charge of the world’s last vampire army is the noble least likely to defect to the Vatican.

Therefore, he does not need to explain his political correctness, it is enough for him to stand on the political standpoint of the aristocracy to seek benefits.

“The Knights Templar will remain in the Imperial City to prevent possible war in the south.”

The emperor gave a reason, and although it sounded reasonable, the nobles were reluctant to believe it.

However, no one continued to challenge the emperor’s authority.

“The orcs have not become more powerful after a hundred years as you said. They are still the same as they were a hundred years ago.”

The person who answered Earl William’s question was Earl Clayton, who had the most say in this matter.

“I went to the North a few years ago. Except for the six orcs from the Royal Court, the remaining orc tribes were the same as what our ancestors recorded. They lived in the North in a primitive way. And because of the cold weather, only a small number of orcs could survive in the ice and snow.”

“I also believe that the orcs cannot break through any fortress in the empire.”

The first to speak was Archduke Fleming, the one closest to the emperor.

“But as far as we know, the fortress in the North Wind Province has been captured by the orcs once. Isn’t the North Wind Province also part of the Empire?”

Indeed, because of the previous events between the kingdom and the God of Light, the nobles had begun to gradually pay attention to that land. Naturally, they learned through various channels that the North Wind Province had once again been invaded by orcs and the Xiangshan Plain Fortress had been lost.

“Your information is out of date. The war in the North Wind Province has been quelled, the orcs have been slaughtered, and the fortress has been recaptured by Baron Ryan. It is now in the hands of the nobles.”

Earl Clayton looked at the other person, who snorted coldly and smiled.

“Baron Ryan? He is such a brave baron. I heard he is your son, Clayton. Didn’t your father send troops to help him fight against the orcs in the north?”

Since the emperor did not send troops or order support for the Northern Province, the nobles would naturally not do so, otherwise it would seem like an overstep.

But the topic has already come to the North Wind Province, and no one can avoid it.

Some nobles looked at the emperor, wanting to know what he meant.

More than thirty years ago, Grand Duke Meyers conquered the Northern Wind Province, but now, the emperor no longer seems willing to own this piece of imperial land.

At this moment, the nobles brought up this matter simply to reduce the emperor’s authority. The North Wind Province was taken back from Grand Duke Meyers, and then lost to the emperor. Therefore, the records in history books will leave a mark that is unfavorable to the emperor.

Everyone knew what the emperor meant. The absence of any great nobles from the North Wind Province in this meeting was the best signal.

But no one could answer the question, and in the end, the meeting ended in the emperor’s anger.

……

“Meetings in the Imperial City are like this. Every time, there are always some people’s anger that causes the parliament to end. This is also the tradition of the nobles. They use this method to avoid disadvantageous situations.”

In Thundercloud County, North Wind Province, on the mountain top, Ryan and Shaya were talking and they learned about the unpleasant meeting that had happened in the imperial capital a few days ago.

“If nothing unexpected happens, the emperor will order a batch of resources to be dispatched to the Beifeng Province to avoid the bad reputation and nutrition that will appear on him.”

Shaya, the Marquis’ mother, looked at Ryan and said this.

“So, there is no need for you to collect supplies for the Northern Wind Province in the name of the Marquis.”

She didn’t want Ryan to take advantage of her son’s title. The Baron Ryan in front of her was much more cunning than she had imagined. Moreover, this matter consumed the prestige of the Marquis of the North Wind, but the one who benefited was Baron Ryan.

“That’s not how you refused just now.”

Ryan looked at the woman in front of him. He forgot what he had agreed to during her shouting as soon as he got up.

“Didn’t I think of a better way for you?”

Ryan nodded and said:

“I want the food sent by the emperor, and I also want the food donated by Marquis Beifeng from the nobles of the empire.”

“War is coming soon, Madam. You don’t want the Marquis to become a wandering nobleman without his own land when he grows up, do you?”

Ryan looked at Shaya and said calmly, his words shocked Shaya with some confusion.

“The war isn’t over yet?”

“Ridiculous, what makes you think the war is over?”

“What we faced before was just the tip of the iceberg among the orcs. Their real invasion has not yet arrived.”

“It is not winter yet for the orcs, my lady.”

Shaya was silent in shock. In the previous orc invasion, the huge orc army even reached the vicinity of Thunder Cloud Mountain twice. The Marquis’ mother had witnessed the war between humans and orcs, and she also knew what price the nobles of the North Wind Province paid for the current outcome after the Xiangshan Plain Fortress was breached.

“Why are you so sure that the orcs will attack the North Wind Province again? They have already attacked once.” “Why?”

Ryan laughed, wondering why this woman was so stupid at this time.

“My frozen land territory is located in the northern border. Do you think the Xiangshan Plain will encounter the orcs first, or will I?”

The nobles outside were unaware of the war that took place in the Frozen Territory. When Shaya heard Ryan talk about it, she stared at him in shock.

“Madam, you are not a member of the Meyers family, nor a member of the royal family. From the moment Marquis Beifeng was born, you have become a member of the Beifeng Marquis family. You are already a noble of Beifeng Province.”

After a moment, Shaya finally agreed to Ryan’s proposal and would raise funds from the imperial nobles in the name of Governor Marquis of the North Wind for supplies to fight against the orcs.

“Count Pascal will agree. With the first nobleman who agrees, things will be easier. But he may have some conditions.”

Ryan said this and Shaya nodded.

“He has contacted me and wants the gargoyles to serve as guards for the Cathedral of Light.”

After saying that, she suddenly raised her head and looked at Ryan.

“You already knew?”

Ryan did not deny it. He nodded and walked towards the portal to the other world, where his gold mine had not been fully mined.

The North Wind Province was briefly quiet, but Ryan did not dare to relax. He took advantage of this time to stockpile supplies using various methods. Otherwise, when the threat of orcs broke out again, the nobles would not trade important resources to him.

Using the name of Marquis of the North Wind is only one of the plans. Besides that, Ryan also plans to sell the gold mine in the alien world of the mountains and forests.

Gold mines are turned into gold coins after being mined, so it is better to sell them and get the gold coins earlier.

After learning the approximate remaining reserves of the gold mine, Ryan went to the Earldom of Winter.

“You want to sell the gold mine?”

That’s a gold mine. Earl Winter looked at Ryan in confusion. The nobles were fighting over the mineral veins from another world, so why did Ryan suddenly want to sell it?
“I need gold coins to repair the defenses of the frozen land. The invasion of orcs always threatens my territory. If time permits, I will never sell the gold mine.”

Ryan said helplessly. This reason made Earl Winter unable to find a problem, so he nodded and asked:

“How do you want to sell it?”

“Food. I need food, as much as I can get. Besides that, I also need a group of stonemasons and metal ingots.”

Earl Winter thought about it. Buying food was necessary to deal with the war, but he couldn’t sell too much to Ryan. As for the stonemasons, that was not a problem. He could rent them to Baron Ryan at a high price. The last metal ingots…

This thing is very cheap in the North Wind Province nowadays.

It’s not just because every noble in the North Wind Province has his own iron mine, but also because of the mineral veins discovered in the alien world of the mountains and forests, the nobles’ warehouses are piled with metal ores that they can’t even burn.

After discussing for a whole day, the two nobles finally reached a deal, and a large number of vehicles rushed from the Earldom of Winter to the Frozen Territory.

After selling the gold mine, Ryan had more than 300,000 gold coins left, which was the difference after the transaction was completed. Ryan took these gold coins and went to find Count Sauron again. After reaching a similar deal with the Count, other nobles no longer refused.

He took out another 200,000 from his own pocket, a total of 500,000 gold coins. Ryan gathered a large amount of supplies and craftsmen, all of which were preparations for the defense line of the Frozen Territory Fortress.

Finally, Ryan went to the Xiangshan Plain Fortress.

When he came here again, Viscount Landa came up to him first and asked him how to cash in the wealth here.

“Spices can be used to add flavor to food, or sprinkled on the body. You find a group of men, but when they are human, there is no gain.”

Ryan said, and then started a deal with the viscount.

“I want half, and at the same time the Northern Chamber of Commerce will help you sell spices to the southern lands.”

Viscount Landa unexpectedly did not bargain, and Ryan soon found out the reason.

“The number of orcs in the north of the fortress is increasing day by day. I don’t know when they will launch an attack.”

Only the nobles closest to the orcs can feel the threat from the North and are constantly preparing for confrontation.

“Soon, maybe the next time, it will not be the same as before. The orcs will launch a full-scale attack on the empire, and the entire empire will be submerged in the haze of war.”

Ryan said this. Viscount Landa did not doubt Baron Ryan’s guess, but his mood became more serious.

“If it were you, do you think you could hold this fortress?”

Viscount Landa was not so confident and he asked Ryan.

“I don’t know, but if that day really comes, I will definitely drag all of you nobles into it.”

Ryan laughed, and Viscount Landa took a deep breath. He felt that he could do it.

“The number of troops here is still too small.”

Ryan said this before he left. He had entered here before and led a large army to sneak in, but the orcs did not find it. This fortress was not small and could accommodate 100,000 troops.

But now, the number of defenders in the fortress is less than 30,000.

Although this is already 80% of the amount that the nobles of the North Wind Province can pull out, Ryan feels that if they squeeze a little more, the nobles can still come up with more.

“Thirty thousand cannot be defended, but three hundred thousand can definitely be defended.”

Ryan said meaningfully, and he gave Viscount Landa a suggestion.

After Ryan left, Viscount Landa pondered for a long time, and finally gritted his teeth and wrote letters to some nobles.

We need people, not the army for now, but serfs, civilians, craftsmen, and those who have little fighting power.

Later, by the time the nobles realized what was happening, they had already invested too much manpower and resources in the fortress and could no longer abandon it.

Ryan returned to the Frozen Territory. He still needed to purchase supplies from the two kingdoms in the east, but there was no need to go there in person. The Northern Chamber of Commerce would bring back the resources for the trade.

As for the interior of the Frozen Territory, everyone was preparing for the coming of war. Military fortresses in the mountains were being built in an intensive and orderly manner. With the help of alchemists, these fortresses were mixed with large amounts of metal mines.

“The firing range of the giant crossbow of the watchtower will cover this area, and the troops in the fortress will also be able to take care of the position of the watchtower.”

“But we still need a road from here to Winter City and Rhinohorn Mountain.”

Brock told Ryan that the craftsmen could not guarantee that the army’s supplies would not be completely destroyed. Hearing this, Ryan looked at the muddy road due to the large number of people walking on it, hesitated, and then ordered the road to be repaired.

In his opinion, this road is not necessary, and the Frozen Territory now has no more people available for road construction.

Soon, Bogold also ran over.

“There are more and more orcs in the north, and they are no longer just werewolves and black goat men. Many of them have never been seen before.”

Less than a month had passed since the werewolves were defeated, and orcs were once again flooding the north.

“Even so, you can’t continue to lead the armored bear now.”

Ryan knew what Bogeld was thinking and rejected his idea verbally.

“War will not disappear. Once the defense line is completed, are you still worried that there will be no fighting?”

Bogeld left with bated breath, and Ryan returned to Rhino Horn Mountain to train his body.

“Sky Knight, if you want to advance to a higher level, it will be extremely difficult, but it is impossible to become a sanctuary without daily efforts.”

While exercising, Ryan was also thinking whether there was any way he had not thought of to fight the upcoming war.

(End of this chapter)