Chapter 340: Omens of War
Owen quickly understood that the so-called Special Talent Class was essentially a free-range class. They only had classes two days a month; the rest of the time was self-study.
Free-range grazing; how much they ate depended entirely on their own abilities.
If Owen had had this kind of treatment in his previous life, he would have been overjoyed, only to cry later after entering society because he couldn’t afford to eat.
Although class time was short, it was packed with valuable information. A Legendary Alchemist and an Alchemy Master bombarded them with theories and data. If any other alchemist were present, they would be on their knees, listening reverently.
However, for the students other than Owen and Kotana, it was like listening to a foreign language. What in the world was this stuff?
But as the course progressed, even Owen and Kotana struggled to keep up. They were intelligent, but their relevant knowledge base was lacking. Suddenly encountering such high-end material was challenging, requiring a significant amount of time to fill in the gaps.
Kotana could consult the teachers, and Owen had his subordinates. He could have them analyze the information, and then use his Intelligence Enhancement to copy it.
In any case, Owen had a lot of free time. After a few trial runs, he simply used Portkeys to travel back and forth to the Northland. It didn’t interfere with his gathering of knowledge from the Academy City. Even the Hydra Interest Study Group was gradually expanding under his management.
Karl, however, suffered. He was frequently dragged into a small, dark room by his sister, first whipped, then subjected to various “tools,” and finally carried back to the Alchemy Department by a group of burly men in Black Bodysuits. It had become a spectacle in the Academy City. Many students placed bets on it and even came specifically to watch.
Karl finally understood that going it alone was futile, so he started seeking allies.
Kara was very pleased with her brother’s growth. To encourage him, she whipped him even harder and even sent him back without a shirt, after oiling him up.
Imagine a group of burly men in Black Bodysuits, their crotches bulging like they’d stuffed bunches of grapes in there, parading a handsome, oiled-up man covered in whip marks through the streets. This scene made men cringe and women unable to look away. One can imagine how famous Karl had become in the Academy City.
Now Karl had even let go of his desire for revenge for his father’s supposed murder. He simply wanted to kill Kara.
It must be said that, in a way, Kara had succeeded. She had successfully made her brother forget his old hatred. Now there was only new hatred.
Owen, who had contributed many ideas and provided numerous tools during this process, didn’t dare take credit. He kept a low profile to avoid being mistaken for a pervert.
On the other hand, the Hydra underlings were becoming increasingly uninhibited. Once they donned the Black Bodysuits and masks, they cared for nothing and no one. They even recruited quite a few people in secret. After all, when everyone around you is a pervert, you no longer stand out.
Owen, aware of this, was helpless. He didn’t want to be the leader of a group of perverts, but the moment he started scheming with Kara, he had embarked on a path of no return. No amount of self-justification would work now. He had no choice but to conceal his identity and, through Kara, the Senior Female Student, Obadiah, and Blaude, control the Hydra Interest Study Group. Like Nick Fury, he implemented a hierarchical system to prevent his identity from being discovered.
Lately, Owen had been focusing most of his energy on his territory. With the formalization of the Northland nobility titles, many forces within the Empire were extending their reach into the Northland. While this brought many opportunities and accelerated the Northland’s development, it also brought countless hidden dangers and conflicts, such as competition for population and resources.
Now the Imperial border was wide open, allowing landless peasants and wealth-seeking merchants from within the Empire to enter the Northland. However, the sparsely populated Northland had an insatiable thirst for people.
This was the reality. Whether it was land development or military training, a large population was needed as a foundation. Therefore, conflicts over population were frequent along the Imperial border. Owen’s territory hadn’t seen a large influx of refugees for a long time, only a small number arriving with merchant caravans. This showed how fierce the competition for people was.
If the competition for population was fierce, then the competition for resources was brutal.
The Northland had never lacked resources, especially mineral veins.
Previously, limited by manpower and resources, these veins could only lie dormant underground. Compared to mining, it was more important to farm and feed oneself, because in those days, even with gold bricks, one couldn’t buy food in the Northland.
But with the influx of refugees and the officially recognized Northland nobles, these mines became valuable.
Nobles had the right and the ability to mine and convert the resources into wealth.
The problem was, some territories had barren iron mines, some had high-quality copper mines, and others had gold mines that drove people mad. This led to conflicts and disputes.
These conflicts were irreconcilable. You have it, I don’t. What can be done? One could only steal. Those being robbed were unwilling and could only fight back desperately. Thus, war broke out.
Even Ferrier and Solari, the established Counts of the Northland, were having a hard time. They also faced challenges from emerging powers. Their monopoly on Northland furs and horses was starting to crumble.
These two resources were the foundation of their territories. If problems arose, collapse wouldn’t be far behind. So they could only fight, fight anyone who challenged them, fight until no one dared challenge them anymore.
The Empire ignored the unrest in the Northland. If it wasn’t chaotic, how would they have the opportunity to intervene? Besides, the Empire didn’t interfere in disputes between nobles unless mediation was required, and not all nobles were qualified for Imperial mediation. One had to be at least a Count.
The troubles didn’t end there. Through the Black Hand’s intelligence network, Owen learned that Grand Duke Macaron, Silvia’s father, had finally made his move. However, because he was ostensibly in the Academy City and his Elf Royal bloodline had been exposed, he didn’t dare act openly. He was secretly manipulating events to target North City.
At the same time, Silvia received a letter from her father, instructing her to bear Owen’s child. Simply put, he wanted her to secure his lineage through… well, you know. To improve the family’s bloodline.
Grand Duke Macaron was quite ambitious. A bloodline combining a Witch and Elf Royalty, in some aspects, might not be inferior to a Demigod.
If these were just latent dangers, then the sudden drop in temperature in the Northland this year was a prelude to large-scale war.
Before autumn was halfway over, a light layer of snow had already covered most of the Northland. This wasn’t an auspicious sign of a bountiful harvest, but an omen of many deaths.
The further north one went, the colder and more barren it became, and the scarcer food was. If Owen hadn’t cheated, North City wouldn’t have so much fertile land.
In contrast, the Northland Barbarians relied entirely on the heavens for their food. They had to store enough food for the entire winter before it arrived. One less portion of food meant one death; ten less portions meant ten deaths. It was that cruel.
Therefore, when faced with food shortages, the Northland Barbarians had only one option: to fight desperately. Either they hunted desperately, or they plundered desperately.
But the large-scale drop in temperature made hunting extremely difficult. Going south to plunder became their only choice.
