Chapter 109: The Clouds of War

Although it was already late spring and early summer, the weather in the Odin Empire could barely be considered mild. In the distance, towering mountain peaks were still covered in glistening white snow under the sunlight.

Located to the north of the Norman Empire, the Odin Empire boasted a vast territory far larger than Norman's, making it the largest country in terms of land area on the entire continent.

However, due to its sparse population, over sixty percent of its people were concentrated around the Nofkamen Mountains and the nearby eastern and western coastlines.

North of the Nofkamen Mountains, the land consisted mostly of highlands and barren plains with high altitudes and frigid climates, making it extremely inhospitable for human habitation. Only a few hardy grain crops could grow in these barren lands, but due to the poor soil conditions and extreme climate fluctuations, their yields were pitifully low.

In contrast, the vast plains south of the Nofkamen Mountains, bordering the Norman Empire, were the most suitable farmlands in the entire Odin Empire. The annual grain yield from this region accounted for more than seventy percent of the empire's total food production.

The towering Nofkamen Mountains blocked the freezing winds from the extreme northern ice fields, granting the plains to the south relatively mild climate conditions.

However, even with this fertile land, the food production in the Odin Empire still fell far short of meeting the growing needs of its people. Many Odinians had to resort to hunting wild animals in the forests and gathering berries in the wilderness just to survive.

This harsh way of life forged the Odinians into a hardy and fierce people.

The warriors who could tear apart tigers with their bare hands and battle wolf packs to the death often became legendary heroes among their kin, their names passed down through generations.

It was through this relentless struggle and the unforgiving conditions of their homeland that the Odinians gradually turned their eyes southward toward their neighbor, the Norman Empire.

Hunting in the wild could only fill one's stomach for a day, but seizing land that could grow crops? That could feed oneself and one's descendants for generations!

Moreover, fighting Normans was much easier than battling wild beasts…

Thus, at some point in history, conflicts and skirmishes between the Norman Empire and the Odin Empire began to escalate.

Along the vast border between the two nations, stretching from the westernmost Winterhold Fortress to the eastern Province of Anglus, clashes between Odinians and Normans had persisted for nearly a century.

For generations, every Odin ruler had viewed the conquest of the south as their foremost duty and a testament to their achievements. Time and time again, they mobilized their armies, marching southward, breaking through fortresses, raiding Norman lands, plundering, slaughtering, and looting wealth.

As for the Normans? Each successive Norman emperor was more concerned with adorning their lavish palaces than addressing the threat from the north.

After all, the Odin Empire was merely a nation of barbarians, wasn't it?

The extravagant and decadent lifestyle of the Norman aristocracy had long eroded their fighting spirit. They turned a blind eye to the growing menace in the north, preferring to bask in their indulgent comforts.

But this time… something was different.

The Imperial Palace Guard had intercepted intelligence from the Odin Empire and subsequently imprisoned a member of the Regency Council in Saint Lawrence.

The contents of this intelligence sent chills down the spines of the empire's nobles because, for the first time, it seemed that the current Odin ruler was no longer content with mere raiding and plundering.

The Odinians wanted land.

They wanted vast, fertile land where crops could grow in abundance.

And this… was a direct threat to the Norman nobility's bottom line!

In the minds of these aristocrats, they could tolerate occasional raids by the impoverished Odinians. After all, they were neighbors what was a little pillaging now and then?

But outright land seizure?

That was unacceptable.

That was a violation of noble interests!

Thus, almost overnight, the entire northern border of the Norman Empire was on high alert. The clouds of war loomed heavily over the land, casting a shadow between the two nations.

Noble lords of the northern regions swiftly received orders from Saint Lawrence, the imperial capital. One after another, noble armies began assembling at Winterhold Fortress.

Meanwhile, troops directly under the Imperial Crown were mobilizing en masse across the empire.

At the same time that the Norman Empire was scrambling to prepare for war, the Odin armies had already completed their preparations.

Unlike the Norman Empire, which was dominated by powerful landed nobility, the Odin King was the supreme and absolute ruler of his empire, exercising full control over both the Odin military and its civilian population.

In the event of war, the peasants who lived on the Armansh Plains (the vast lowlands south of the Nofkamen Mountains) could be transformed into capable warriors in an incredibly short amount of time.

The entire nation could be mobilized for war.

That was the greatest advantage that the harsh Odin environment had bestowed upon its people.

In the Odinians' traditional beliefs, a boy who had never hunted was not yet a man. An Odinian who had never slain a beast was not worthy of taking a wife.

The strong ruled the weak.

These simple four words were deeply ingrained in their bones, shaping their very way of life.

While the harsh lands of the Nofkamen Highlands had made Odin a desolate and impoverished empire, they had also given the Odinians the finest warhorses in the world.

Every year, Odin would trade these highland horses tamed from the northern wastelands with the Normans in exchange for grain and other supplies.

With an abundant supply of these mighty steeds, the Odin warriors could seamlessly transition between civilians and cavalry, granting them a battle readiness on par with the Norman military if not superior.

More importantly, they possessed a mobility that the Norman forces utterly lacked.

With these advantages, the Odinians had won the vast majority of their clashes with the Norman Empire over the past century. Through war, they seized the resources and food they desperately needed while also thinning out their own surplus population.

It was brutal. But under this overarching strategy, the Odinians' physical prowess and combat abilities had steadily grown, and over the past hundred years, they had become the Norman Empire's most formidable enemy.

Had it not been for the fourteen fortress cities, including Winterhold Fortress, standing like iron nails along Norman's northern frontier, the Odin armies would have long since marched straight to Saint Lawrence, the Norman Empire's capital!