The Empire's North Wind Province is located in the far northeast corner.
Far from the prosperity of the West Coast, close to the winter chill of the North.
Poverty and cold are among the few descriptions of this place.
If it weren't for the connection called Flying Wing Canyon, this place would almost look like an enclave on the map.
The Lord of the Morning Dawn's light bathed the lush forest, dispelling all the cold and allowing the disheveled, handsome young man, leaning against a large tree, to recover from the shock of his transmigration.
Ryan Clayton, that's his name.
"This is my name."
The boy struggled to his feet. He looked down at his chest, where his magnificent clothes were torn, and on the corresponding back, there was an even wetter spot that he could feel.
Those were the marks left after the assassin's rapier pierced his chest and back.
With pale hands supporting the tree, the boy from Earth gradually accepted all the memories in his mind.
"That's my name."
In this magical world filled with gods and sorcerers, Ryan Clayton steadfastly accepted it all.
He transmigrated and became Ryan Clayton, a young baron about to arrive in his territory, who died at the hands of an assassin.
Shaking his head, Ryan felt his limbs trembling slightly, indicating that he had lost too much blood earlier.
Not far away, a pair of hungry eyes had already set their sights on him.
"No way, I just transmigrated and I'm going to die?"
Ryan felt he might be the most miserable transmigrator ever, because he had just experienced the existence of his cheat ability.
I've time-traveled, and I even have a cheat code, but I'm about to die.
Is there anything more desperate than having hope right in front of you?
Fortunately, the call coming from deep in the mountains rekindled Ryan's hope.
"Young Master Ryan!"
"Young Master Ryan!!!"
" Beard, I'm here."
Ryan looked toward the source of the sound and saw an old man with disheveled white hair leading eight bloodstained Apprentice Knights running toward him in a panic.
Those were his steward and knight guards.
When Ryan saw that he was still unharmed, he could clearly feel the old man breathe a sigh of relief.
"Young Master Ryan, I'm so glad you're alright."
"If you get hurt, we could die a hundred times and it wouldn't be enough to atone for it," Beard said, reaching out to check Ryan for any wounds.
" Beard, I'm fine."
Ryan brushed aside Old Butler's rough hand, not paying any attention to the other's actions. After all, Old Butler had basically taken care of him since he was a child.
"By the way, which group of thieves did you encounter?"
Ryan changed the subject.
Upon hearing this, not only was Beard furious, but the eight Apprentice Knights around him also went from feeling ashamed to being enraged.
"Those peasants dare to call themselves thieves, and they even dare to ambush the Baron."
Knight Commander Deren gritted his teeth, as if this was the only way to cover up his dereliction of duty in letting Ryan be scattered.
Ryan remained silent. It seemed that the group of refugees who had formed a band of thieves was also a decoy, used to cover up the assassin who was actually trying to kill him.
If a nobleman dies at the hands of an elite assassin, it is no small matter for the entire empire.
Because that means that some people in politics have begun to act with impunity.
Moreover, his presence in the frigid and remote North Wind Province was itself a political maneuver.
"It's alright, I didn't die, did I?"
"Let's go. We need to get to Frozen Earth Territory before noon."
Ryan was still young, only fourteen years old, and due to excessive blood loss, he was weak in his limbs and had to be carried by a knight.
Walking through the mountains and forests where there were no roads, even though he felt physically and mentally exhausted, he still dared not fall asleep easily.
He was sorting through his memories and understanding of the extra ten years or so that had suddenly appeared.
Those flashy magic spells and knightly combat techniques filled him with longing.
This world has gods, and one hundred and thirty years ago, many gods faced their twilight, which led to a transdimensional war.
The war of the gods lasted for thirty years, during which many gods either perished or fell into slumber.
But the disasters brought by that war were far more than that. On the continent of Norris, where Ryan was located and which some gods also called the main world, two-thirds of the land was plunged into an eternal winter.
Since then, the cold north has been referred to as the North by southerners.
Snow and wind covered the entire northern border, and the year-round cold winds and deep glaciers could even form pure ice that never melts.
The North was no longer suitable for human habitation, and all the people of the North who survived the war fled to the South.
The Flor Empire, which was originally unknown in the south, suddenly became the overlord of the Norris continent, and has expanded its territory in recent decades.
North Wind Province, where Ryan is now located, was conquered more than a decade ago by Duke Meyers, one of the four grand dukes of the Flor Empire, who led his tens of thousands of Nightmare Knights.
However, North Wind Province is not currently under the jurisdiction of that Grand Duke.
Clearly, this is yet another disgusting political struggle.
North Wind Province, far removed from the warm winds and bustling city of the West Coast, is the Empire's territory closest to the North.
In addition, the various factions in the Empire had interfered with Grand Duke Meyers ' plans, making the place a complete mess. The vagrants and bandits encountered in the previous story were actually a group of bandits who couldn't stand the unlimited oppression of their lord and the occasional plundering by other lords.
This is North Wind Province. The capital is even considering whether to abandon the entire North Wind Province, as it costs the empire millions of gold coins every year.
And Ryan is heading to the Baron territory Frozen Earth Territory is located at the northernmost point of the entire North Wind Province.
If North Wind Province was practically an exclave of the Empire, then Frozen Earth Territory was essentially an exclave of North Wind Province.
After traversing the Swamp and forests that are disturbed every year, you will arrive at Frozen Earth Territory.
That's his territory, and nobody can interfere there, but it's definitely not a good thing.
If Frozen Earth Territory had even the slightest value, it would have been occupied long ago. The only reason it still exists is because no one has been able to extract even a single silver coin's worth of value from it.
Too far from the West Coast, too close to the North.
But all of this is what he has to face. The previous assassination attempt told him that he will face not only the cold winds of the North, but also pressure from within the Empire.
Every title in the empire is incredibly valuable, and his becoming a baron was the result of a power struggle within the empire's upper echelons.
Ryan Clayton, the least noticeable of the Earl of Clayton's many sons.
The Clayton family had many descendants more capable than him, all of whom longed for a knighthood, even a Pioneering Knight.
Ryan's position as a baron is self-evident.
However...
"Three months ago, Earl Clayton led his 30,000 Flame Dragon Knights across 1,200 miles into the heart of the Northern Border Orcs, where they killed the Mammoth High Priest on the snowy mountain and slaughtered hundreds of Orc tribes."
"More than 300,000 orcs have been enslaved and are being transported back to the Empire."
"The income of tens of millions of gold coins is only what we know. There are even rumors that Earl Clayton has obtained the wisp of divine radiance treasured in the Mammoth People's tribe."
"Within the Empire, the Clayton Family is maneuvering to make Earl Clayton the Empire's fifth Grand Duke!"
"Thus, a silent political struggle broke out before the count even returned to the empire."
"The cake is only so big. Nobody wants an extra person to share it in addition to the royal family and the four grand dukes."
"The result was that an insignificant Ryan Clayton became a baron, and a baron of the North Wind Province at that."
"Thus, the title of baron offset the merit of the count's expedition against the orcs."
Even from these few memories, Ryan could sense the hordes of danger and suffering that the capital of the Royal Empire, thousands of miles away, must have been like.
"If it were just Ryan, well, if it were just Ryan, he would have died on his way to the territory."
"If I were just a simple time traveler, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to do anything about this world with its strict rules."
"But I have a cheat code." Thinking of this, Ryan's mood relaxed a little.
With a thought, a palm-sized, semi-transparent light screen appeared in front of him.
[ Spirituality: 9]