Throne of the North.

Chapter 158: Death of the Cardinal

Ryan had to admit that this was a very clever move.

Combining royal power and divine authority, rather than separating them in an extreme way, will definitely benefit the empire to the extent that the sum of the two is greater than the sum of the two.

The most important thing is that in this case, the importance and orthodoxy of the Holy See will not be so absolute.

The Empire is also a believer of the Lord of the Dawn, and the Church is also a believer of the Lord of the Dawn. I exercise rights on behalf of the gods, and you also exercise rights on behalf of the gods.

Under the gaze of countless eyes in the palace, Columbus III personally wrote the lordship system on a sacred scroll. Once written, it can never be changed. It also means that the lordship system is completely recognized and confirmed.

Everyone's eyes were eagerly waiting until Columbus III finished writing.

then--

"Columbus! Columbus! Columbus!"

Inside the palace, all the civilians stretched their necks and roared in excitement.

"Flore! Flore! Flore!"

The artifact scroll named Flor's Testimony was very large. Ryan was not far away and could see it clearly. The description of the lord on it was that he was of the aristocratic class and a pioneer of light.

The original lord was just a lord, below the fifth-class baron and supreme over the knights, but now, he has the additional title of Pioneer of Light, which means that they are acting for the gods.

The master of the empire, Columbus, was the pope of these pioneers of light.

With the sacred scepter in his hand, there was no doubt about the legitimacy of Columbus III.

The rights of the Holy See were taken away just like that.

"Umberto!"

Columbus III's voice rang out, and a tall knight stepped out from the crowd waiting eagerly below and knelt on one knee below Columbus.

"My noble king, what do you want me to do?"

Columbus III looked at Umberto, and his voice echoed throughout the palace.

"Umberto was a soldier of the Imperial Northern Frontier Corps. In the 122nd year of the Imperial calendar, in the northern border, during the winter when the orcs invaded, he single-handedly slaughtered an entire tribe of orcs and opened up dozens of miles of territory."

"Now, in the name of the empire, in the name of Columbus, I give you that land."

"And you will become the first lord of the empire and the first bright pioneer of the gods."

"You will become the master of the Umberto family, the nobility of the empire!"

Umberto raised his head, looked at Columbus III with fanatical eyes, and then shouted loudly.

"Follow your will and the gift of the gods!"

Columbus smiled and nodded, then called out a few names again, including knights, civilians, and even someone saw a slave.

"As the master of the empire, I will free you from slavery and reward you with the land you have acquired for the empire. You will become a lord of the empire and a pioneer of light."

When that slave suddenly became a noble, all the people in the palace who were eagerly waiting to hear their names called were shocked. They couldn't believe it.

After Columbus finished giving the reward, he continued to speak.

"As long as you are oriented toward light and explore for the sake of the empire and the gods, even slaves can become nobles!"

Looking at the people who were cheering and howling, there was no sound from behind Columbus where many nobles were sitting.

They were not shocked by Columbus III's actions. As political aristocrats, they knew very well what the other party was doing.

The only difference is that the person who spoke was the emperor of the empire.

Even a few months ago, these nobles did the same thing in their own territories, but it didn't spread throughout the world like it does today.

These are the basic qualities of aristocrats. What Columbus is doing now cannot make these aristocrats lose their composure.

Moreover, their role here is just to make this matter more realistic.

"The Lord of the Empire will be recognized by the world! Whether inside or outside the Empire, the Lord is always a noble!"

Columbus was still roaring, stirring up a storm of faith like a true pope.

Then, he began to invite observation groups from various countries to come forward one by one and imprint the tokens of the kings behind them on the scroll. Each mark represented their recognition of the noble status of the Imperial Lord in their territory.

This scene also made those who watched it more convinced.

By the end, all the kingdoms, duchies, and even earls had gone through the motions.

Thousands of eyes fell on the cardinal of the Vatican.

The old archbishop finally opened his eyes. While waiting for Columbus III's call, he whispered to the legion commander beside him.

"Damon, we are lucky."

Tom Walter, one of the nine cardinals of the Holy See, second only to the Pope, had a terrifyingly calm voice, like the cold wind blowing in through the window in the dead of winter.

"We witnessed the birth of a heresy today."

"I will witness the glory of the morning light. When the morning light rises, no one will be able to stand in front of the Holy See, and I, too, will be bathed in the glory of the Lord."

"Damon, I trust you to eliminate all heresy for my Lord."

After the cardinal finished speaking, he stood up and walked towards Columbus with that disgusting smile on his face.

He had no expression on his face, just walked towards the other party step by step. At this moment, all the nobles in the palace became nervous, and the legends in secret were also staring at this scene closely.

The cardinal of the Holy See, wearing a scarlet robe, and the emperor of the Empire, wearing a golden robe and a lion robe, were getting closer and closer.

The nobles had not been nervous about the establishment of the lordship system before, but now they were extremely worried that the cardinal would do something scary.

The cardinal moved closer to Columbus III little by little until they were shoulder to shoulder.

"Soup, my friend..."

Columbus III had just opened his mouth when he saw the originally ruddy face of the cardinal beside him suddenly turn pale, and then the whole body was shaky. In just a breath of time, the cardinal fell from the platform next to the emperor of the empire like a kite with a broken string.

boom! ! !
The clear sound made the palace so quiet that one could hear a pin drop. Everyone stared blankly at the fallen cardinal. Only five or six meters below the platform, blood was all over the cardinal's body and spread around the feet of the civilians.

"what!!!!"

I don't know who shouted first, and then the whole palace became chaotic.

In the distance, soldiers from far away rushed over quickly, dispersed the civilians, and blocked them ten meters away.

But it was too late. In order to show how popular the Columbus royal family was, no soldier from the palace was allowed to approach the civilians within fifty meters. When they rushed over, everyone could see that the cardinal died in front of them, falling from the platform.

A knight quickly ran up from the side and said something to Columbus III with a stiff face. Then the emperor of the empire also looked extremely ugly.

Ryan saw that the nobles in front of him also became agitated at this moment, but no one stepped forward.

They must avoid suspicion and not get into trouble.

"It's ridiculous that a cardinal with power comparable to that of a god would fall to his death."

At the front, Grand Duke Fleming sneered, but then he was filled with murderous intent.

"How cruel! Using the death of a cardinal to start a war."

(End of this chapter)