Chapter 174: Chapter 118: Activate the Ice Barrier! Their families and forces were all stationed at the Northern Fortress, and at this moment, they could only express their allegiance. David accepted the allegiance of some of these nobles. However, for those nobles already blacklisted by the Gray Wolf Knight, he would not accept them lightly. Now was the time for revenge and settling grievances. He announced a series of noble names on the spot, then took the Wolf Cavalry to arrest these nobles directly. To the nobles who dared to resist, he showed no mercy, and with a flick of his blade, he declared the death sentence for this noble. "Duke Frost Wolf, I hate you immensely!" "I should have killed you back then, completely erasing the Frost Wolf Clan from this world." Some doomed nobles cursed incessantly. Even in death, they could not understand how the young master of the Frost Wolf Clan, who hadn’t even activated the Frost Wolf Bloodline, managed to elevate his strength to Tier Six Earth Knight and become a top-tier expert in such a short time! The other nobles also realized this and looked at Duke Frost Wolf with an ever-growing sense of chill in their hearts. Duke Frost Wolf’s restraint was truly terrifying. In retrospect, Duke Frost Wolf must have been hiding his strength. A descendant of the Frost Wolf Clan with an inactive bloodline truly posed no threat; given time, he would naturally disappear. At such times, no one would think of attacking the Frost Wolf Clan that had nothing. After all, there are not many benefits, and it might bring unnecessary infamy. If these forces had known that Duke Frost Wolf had long activated his bloodline power, and that his prodigious talent far surpassed the old duke, they probably would have struck at the first opportunity. However, it’s too late to say anything now. With victory belongs the king, with defeat comes ruin; since they lost, they naturally have to bear the corresponding consequences. And David clearly also learned a lesson from his own story. He didn’t hold back against these nobles, opting for complete eradication. For several consecutive days, the Northern Fortress was awash in blood. Fortunately, David was relatively restrained and didn’t kill all the nobles. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂 For those who hadn’t targeted the Frost Wolf Clan but merely occupied the clan’s assets, he opted to levy a fine hefty enough to cause substantial damage. Once he handled the forces within the Northern Fortress, it finally welcomed stability. Next, naturally, came the arrangements for the Northern Fortress. David didn’t intend to make too many changes to the original generals who defended the fortress. Aside from allowing some nobles who pledged allegiance to the Frost Wolf Clan to fill the gaps left by the purged commanders. He didn’t even plan to replace the Fortress Commander. "Lord Duke, are you not planning to garrison the Northern Fortress?" Marquis Corny was somewhat puzzled. David nodded upon hearing this. Frost Wolf Ridge still had his wife and witches. Moreover, compared to the Northern Fortress, Frost Wolf Ridge was obviously more hidden, making it suitable for the witches to conceal themselves. Besides, the forces at the Northern Fortress were too complex, and he didn’t wish to spend his energy dealing with these nobles. Now that he had eliminated the opposing forces to the Frost Wolf Clan at the Northern Fortress, and with the key to the fortress barrier in hand, no one at the Northern Fortress could stir up any trouble. Furthermore, Frost Wolf Ridge was not far from the Northern Fortress, and riding full speed on his Netherworld Wolf, he could reach it in just half a day. With him being the de facto commander of the Northern Fortress, the fortress’s strength had increased significantly. Hearing Duke Frost Wolf’s firm stance, Corny knew no further persuasion would work. Moreover, both the other nobles of the Northern Fortress and internally within his family hoped he would continue as the Fortress Commander. "I will continue to guard the Northern Fortress for Lord Duke," Marquis Corny said solemnly. David nodded, leaving behind some officials to assist Corny in managing the fortress. Of course, this also served a monitoring purpose. In addition, Annie would deploy hidden spies at the Northern Fortress, and with messengers present, he could learn about events there at any time. After arranging all these miscellaneous tasks, David breathed a sigh of relief. The Northern Fortress could now be considered his domain. The tax revenue and other benefits it could provide annually were considerable. With these abundant resources, his future cultivation as a wizard would be much smoother. After sorting out everything, David finally had time to take out the Ice Treasure Pearl, which could control the Ice Barrier, and carefully examined it. This Ice Treasure Pearl was inherently an ice-attribute weapon, capable of directly enhancing the power of an Ice Mage’s ice-attribute magic. Of course, most importantly, the Ice Treasure Pearl could control the Ice Barrier. The place David was staying now was naturally the former mansion of the Frost Wolf Clan, also the home of the Fortress Commander. During this time, the Ice and Snow Dusk Turtle Clan had begun to move out, and David naturally wanted to reclaim the Frost Wolf Clan’s mansion. He quickly made his way to the study within the castle. The arrangement inside the study hadn’t changed much from before he left. The Ice and Snow Dusk Turtle Clan had handled this matter quite satisfactorily for him. This was also the main reason he chose to let the Ice and Snow Dusk Turtle Clan continue to manage the Northern Fortress. Of course, David was not there for nostalgia. The study contained an entrance to the Ice Barrier.