CHAPTER 15: CHAPTER 15: RETURNING HOME WITH GRAIN

When it comes to interests, no noble wears a smiling face.

"No need to discuss—I’m taking all the grain. That’s the main reason I came."

"Can your Frozen Wasteland Barony even consume that much food?"

"You know I’m the Baron of the Frozen Wasteland. If I don’t prepare enough now, what will we eat next year? Rob again like this?"

As he finished, Ryan cast a glance at Hatton, making the latter feel a chill run down his spine.

The territories closest to the Frozen Wasteland were his and Watt’s. Now that Watt’s was stripped clean, could Ryan be planning to take from his barony next?

Wrapping himself tighter in a freshly plundered bearskin coat, Hatton took a step back.

"But you don’t need that much. This is enough to feed two thousand people for half a year."

"Which is why I’m also taking a group of slaves," Ryan said as if it were only natural.

"No way! You already got half the gold, Ryan, now you’re just being greedy."

"Don’t forget, Baron Hatton—if not for me, it might’ve been your knight captain who died today. And with a Bronze-ranked pioneer knight next door, how would you ever sleep peacefully again?"

"I just solved a major threat for you. From now on, the Watt Knight’s domain is wide open for your expansion."

That was a big advantage. Hearing this, Hatton decided not to press the issue further.

Ryan hadn’t even mentioned the iron mine—naturally, that now belonged entirely to Lord Hatton. Just imagining the stream of gold coins made Hatton feel like they were falling from the sky.

Compared to the mine, what was a little grain and a few slaves?

"Fine then. But those two cat-girls—I’m keeping them."

"Fair enough."

Although Ryan was also curious about the anatomy of beast-eared girls, he had too many pressing issues in his territory. He let it go.

After a brief division of the spoils, Ryan didn’t bother with how Hatton handled things. He ordered the slaves to load all the grain onto ox carts and wagons.

Even though these carts were technically Hatton’s, Ryan took them too—Hatton didn’t object.

He knew what kind of place the Frozen Wasteland was. He even suspected that half the food would be lost just on the way there.

...

Ryan was grateful that the marshlands between the Frozen Wasteland and the rest of Northwind Province were frozen in the winter. Otherwise, as Hatton had guessed, the wagons would have sunk, and half the food might’ve been lost.

The frozen marshlands helped preserve the food, but the mountain forests posed their own challenges.

There was no proper road to the Frozen Wasteland—just steep mountain paths.

"You, go help them carry the food up." Eventually, Ryan called on the knight retainers, whose strength far surpassed that of the slaves. Brand alone managed to carry an ox over a ravine.

In the vast snowy forests, everything was covered in white. But what Ryan hadn’t expected was that slave casualties had already exceeded food losses.

"We’ve only traveled a short distance, and already more than twenty slaves have died?" he asked Rosen sharply.

Rosen looked nervous, unable to explain.

It wasn’t long before Ryan understood.

The nobles’ exploitation of their slaves was endless. These slaves were barely fed—and now it was the dead of winter. Even traveling through the mountains, the death count could’ve been much worse.

All things considered, only losing twenty was a sign Ryan had pushed them at a reasonable pace.

Accepting this reality, Ryan sighed and told the slaves: once they reached the Frozen Wasteland, each would get black bread.

This promise sparked a little hope among the weary.

But with winter’s chill deepening and the snow falling endlessly, more people vanished as the journey continued. The once bustling group grew quiet.

In that silence, the old steward, Beard, finally spoke.

"Young Lord Ryan, you should’ve fought harder for more."

He couldn’t understand why Ryan had settled for so little—surely he didn’t grasp the value of the goods.

"If it weren’t for us, Baron Hatton wouldn’t have taken the mine, nor all that wealth from the Watt Knight’s domain."

"You only took grain and slaves. You didn’t even take Watt’s armor, his warhorse—or a share of the iron mine. That’s a huge loss."

"Haha, Beard, so you finally said it. I thought you were going to speak up back in the marshes."

Ryan Laughed.

"Beard, the Watt Knight’s domain and the iron mine aren’t as easy to claim as you think."

"Did you forget? Watt had an heir. Even if he’s dead, that knightly domain doesn’t belong to Baron Hatton."

"Watt married a woman from the Meyers family, and his ancestral merit helped him get that pioneer decree."

"But if Watt could hold that decree, then his wife—and his son—must have played a big part in securing it."

"That sixteen-year-old kid isn’t in the Watt domain. That proves it—he’s probably studying in the Meyers duchy right now."

"Now that Watt is dead, his son will have to return to inherit the territory. If he doesn’t, the knightly domain will fall into ruin—like the Frozen Wasteland once did."

"I left Hatton with all that stuff for a reason. When the young Watt comes back, who’s he going to blame—Hatton, who took everything, or me, who’s on the far side of the marshes and mountains?"

"Besides, I’ve figured something out. Even though the Meyers Duke lost his bid to control the Northwind Province, he clearly hasn’t given up on it."

"Don’t worry. Baron Hatton will come begging me soon enough—and satisfying me then won’t be so easy."

Beard stared at Ryan in astonishment. He hadn’t realized his young lord had such far-sighted vision.

In that moment, the steward’s gaze returned to what it had been when he first swore loyalty.

Young Lord Ryan would become a great noble of the Empire.

"And besides, Beard, these slaves—they’re the real prize."

Ryan said no more but looked at his personal stats panel.

Spirituality: 788

Divinity: Blessing of the Deer Spirit

More than 700 points of spirituality—that was Ryan’s greatest reward.

Even without that, population was essential for any territory’s growth. And with how dangerous development in the Frozen Wasteland would be, many would die.

Ryan would need a lot of slaves.

For the Frozen Wasteland, nothing was more valuable than people.

If not for concerns about food supply, he would’ve taken every slave from Watt’s domain.

And speaking of food—this 70,000 to 80,000 jin (35–40 tons) of grain would never last the six months Hatton claimed.

Ryan wasn’t like Hatton, who neglected his slaves.

To rapidly grow his territory, he’d need incentives—and grain was key in the north.

Warmth and food could make these slaves work 20 hours a day.

Snow fluttered like petals across the sky. Ahead lay the sweeping view of Hornridge Mountain.

At the end of December, Ryan finally returned to his loyal Frozen Wasteland Barony.