Throne of the North.

Chapter 511 Praise for Light (Part )

In the bright sunshine, Sven left the barony and, as he said, headed towards the Dawn Fortress.

But in reality, he was half lying.

He went around and around, not skipping any of the noble's territories.

There was no communication with the noble lords, but he went directly to the Dawn Churches in those noble lords. These churches were not big, and their wooden structures were only the size of three or five houses.

The church is not big, but the clergy of the Vatican are all very ostentatious, and their food, clothing, housing and transportation are no different from those of the nobles.

Sven's performance made some clergy uneasy, and also caused some clergy to reject and be hostile to him.

But it doesn't matter. Sven is good at using false information. Archbishop Adriana has a transcendent status in the Dawn faith circle of the Serra Kingdom. Until now, many believers have spontaneously provided supplies to Archbishop Adriana in the north.

In addition, there is the relationship with the Archangel Samir. If Adriana is still between mortals and gods, then the archangels are truly pure servants of the great Lord of the Dawn. They originally represent the will of the Lord of the Dawn.

So no one dared to do anything to Sven, but instead took good care of the missionary in a friendly manner.

By the time he arrived at the Dawn Fortress, the former Unicorn Fortress, most of the noble lords of the entire Sera Kingdom had been taken away by him.

The Kingdom of Sera was not big to begin with. It was a kingdom formed by the union of five large noble territories, and the number of nobles in it was less than half of that in the Kingdom of Andara.

It took almost two months, and when Sven arrived at the Dawn Fortress, it was the warmest time of the year on the Norris Continent.

"Praise the morning light, which gives us food to overcome hunger."

"Praise the morning light, for giving us clothes."

"Praise the morning light..."

In this fortress of dawn, the voices of believers praying can be heard in every corner. When Sven arrived here, he was like a fish entering the sea. Wherever he passed, everyone respectfully made way for him.

Even if they are just ordinary missionaries, they have more than 99% of the believers of the Dawn Church.

"Mr. Sven, come here."

Someone greeted Sven, and Sven looked over and recognized the other person as Reverend Quidi, a pastor and priest in a viscount's territory. Sven had a deep impression of him because when they first met he was at night and this guy invited him to participate in an ancient ceremony.

Sven was curious, what other stories about the Dawn Church were there that he didn't know?

He went and was shocked.

Because it is in the viscount's territory, the church in that viscount's territory must be larger and have more clergy.

At that ceremony, all the clergymen had one or two naked nuns underneath them, and the sounds they made were called heavenly sounds. Pastor Quidi also loudly told those women that only the most pious voices could reach the eternal heaven. Then, those nuns who believed in it without a doubt kept shouting even when their voices were hoarse.

That ceremony was called Welcoming the Dawn by the clergy.

Well, the ceremony will last until dawn.

Sven had been hard all night. After all, he was not a true ascetic of the Church of Dawn. However, for the sake of the bard's beliefs and stories, he could not let what he had done before go to waste.

It is also because of this that clergymen such as Quidi have made a 180-degree turn in their attitude towards Sven, and no longer look at him as a missionary with no background from a small place.

In the Dawn Fortress, before seeing Sven, Creed and his people were still discussing which nun was better here, and someone familiar with the place recommended a good one to him.

After seeing Sven, Creed decided to abandon the garbage.

Then he was surprised to find that these clergymen from various territories all knew the missionary Sven.

"Priest Sven."

"Priest Sven."

Most of the titles within the Vatican are based on positions, and Sven calls others "ordinary missionaries", but these people prefer the title of priest.

"Priests without a church are called priests. Sooner or later, a sven priest will become a priest, or even a bishop."

They thought this way, and no one doubted this matter.

Sven's faith is so devout that even his control over divine arts is better than theirs. It is obvious that the great Lord has given him more power.

Sven greeted them one by one.

Why did these priests from various territories appear in the Dawn Fortress? They arrived before Sven.

The reason is still what Father Card said at the beginning.

Because Father Sigurd was killed, the Church was furious and sent a team to the Kingdom of Serra. It was said that it was to fight against the "Ivy" in the Kingdom of Andara in the north.

The leaderless branch of the Dawn Church of the Serra Kingdom gathered here for this reason.

Sven was very curious about who could give these clergymen of the Holy See so much confidence that they could deal with Ivy, one of the ten great magic patrons of the empire.

Before coming here, he asked Lord Ryan about the Ivy.

After the Pan-Dimensional War of Gods, magicians began to mingle in the Empire, thus spreading and improving the Empire's magical civilization.

Among them, life magic has gone the furthest, because of the Empire's support at all costs, life magic is needed to replace the divine arts of the priests of the Church of Dawn.

[Ivy] Lord Ivan is one of the founders of this.

He can be said to be the pioneer of the rise of life magic in the Flor Empire, and he is deeply trusted by the emperor and the great nobles.

His strength is beyond doubt.

Sven met those silent ascetics on the second day after arriving at Dawn Fortress. He came on time.

Sven came uninvited, and his name and identity were not even on the roster of the Holy Mountain. But as Archbishop Adriana had said, no one could doubt Sven's identity as a follower of the Dawn.

None of the clergy of the Dawn Church had the time to find out whether there was such a person as the gentle missionary.

Perhaps they can't find it out because the Dawn Church is too bloated now.

The roster probably isn't as simple as just one or two volumes. It would take many volumes to find all the clergy of the Church of Dawn.

Sven mixed in and stood in front of the crowd, looking at the thirteen shiny bald heads.

They are believers of the Dawn, fanatical warriors, and cruelly trained ascetics.

Some people call them the silent ascetics because in front of them, most magicians cannot cast magic. Even if they can cast magic, the power of the magic will be greatly reduced. Wherever they appear, the magic factors in the void will stop being active.

Likewise, some people call these people believers of the Word.

It's not that they can't speak. Every time they speak, a terrifying divine power is descending, and their words are as powerful as magic.

In the initial war between the Empire and the Church, the nobles suffered heavy losses because of these ascetics.

Due to the fact that they possess such powerful divine arts, they should be considered a threat to the Vatican, because the divine arts possessed by those cardinals may not be as good as those of some powerful silent ascetics.

But they cannot become a threat because they only know how to fight. Perhaps the top leaders of the Holy See intend to develop them along this single track.

They looked hideous, and the number of thirteen ascetics matched that of the original Pope and the thirteen Knights of the Dawn. According to the legend... the great Lord of the Dawn also had thirteen powerful followers of gods.

"The light of dawn will surely illuminate every dark land."

Following Sven's murmur, all the clergy responded and called upon the teachings of Dawn at the same time.

The thirteen silent ascetics also opened their eyes. Beside them, the fourteenth person who came to the Kingdom of Serra, a priest who was also the leader of the silent ascetics, opened his mouth and spoke to everyone.

"The Pope needs a war, a holy war. The evil heresy, the Flor Empire, is trying to steal the Lord's faith. The Son of God has given a prophecy that the Flor Empire will be burned and destroyed in the holy fire of the dawn."

"The same goes for his followers. The Kingdom of Andara will be punished most severely. The king of that land stole the throne that did not belong to him. The justice of the Dawn needs to put it back on the path it should be on."

"The Dawn believers here will defend the glory of Dawn with their lives and deaths!"

"Glory to the Lord!"

"Glory to my Lord!!!"

In fact, this is what the followers of Dawn should say, not the praise of Dawn in Sven's mouth. That is the words of the followers of the Imperial Church of Light. After the pastor finished speaking, he stopped talking. He is a pastor. The position of pastor in the Holy See is very special. They have almost no power. No, it should be said that it is just the words of the pastor, and there is no power.

The reason why he kept silent was also very simple.

The Kingdom of Serra is leaderless, and no new archbishop has come to the Holy Mountain. However, if the war is to begin, a suitable person must be chosen to lead the Dawn believers of the Kingdom of Serra.

The clergy here looked at each other in bewilderment.

Previously, there were two people who could become the leader of the Sera Kingdom. One was Archbishop Adriana, but she went to the North on her own, and even the Pope did not order her to come back.

Another was a bishop who was killed by Ryan.

Archbishop Sigurd, who came from the Vatican, was supposed to be the leader, but he also died.

The Kingdom of Sera has no leader, and the Dawn branch here seems to be full of danger.

Without the Pope's order, who dares to step forward and decide on the holy war?

No one dared to speak easily, and at this time, Sven stood up.

"Everything is for the glory of my Lord. If the Lord wants to punish a sinful servant like me, it will be my honor."

When the people around saw Sven, they were surprised, but they all knew Sven.

"Great! It's Priest Sven!"

The one who shouted was Father Card. In his opinion, there was no clergyman more suitable than Sven. The clergymen here in the Serra Kingdom were all garbage like him. He clearly understood this fact.

All the ambitious ones are dead, and those who remain in the Sera Kingdom are all scoundrels.

"It's Priest Sven!"

"It's Sven, he can do it."

The clergymen spoke at once; their voices were chaotic and not unified, but they all showed their approval of Sven.

This puzzled the priest who came with the Silent Ascetic. He did not know the other party.

But as a priest, he knew very well that he should keep his mouth shut. Even a legendary figure like Pastor Soto was banished to a remote place like the Andara Kingdom. This shows that the Vatican is very wary of the priests and their control over power within the Vatican.

Sven took over the management of the Dawn believers in an incredible and absurd way. Of course, Sven also knew that it would be difficult for him to really take advantage of the interests in the hands of these clergy.

Just like the commander of Wing Canyon, can he command the army of a barony?
Without the Baron Lord's order, Farrell, the commander of Wing Canyon, would not be able to do it.

But at least his purpose was accomplished.

"The Kingdom of Andara is where the glory of my Lord once shone. The eternal night briefly covered that land, but the glory of the morning light will never fall. The servants of the morning light should dedicate everything to returning that land to the light of the morning light again."

When Sven said this, all the clergy became excited and shouted. Their devout and firm tone made Sven wonder if what he had seen in the past two months was just an act.

But the answer is obvious. If these clergymen were really like this, they would have long ago brought the faith of the Andara Kingdom back to the embrace of the dawn by relying on the terrible brainwashing power of faith.

So, their current passionate look is just acting.

It's really aristocratic.

Sven thought that in his own story, he might be able to add some words to describe these corrupt clergy of the Church.

Sven began to discuss the holy war of the Dawn with these clergymen.

Everyone was talking at once, and no one was cut out for fighting, but that was fine. The key point was that a large number of griffins appeared in the sky above the Dawn Fortress.

In the Kingdom of Sera, griffins are not without owners. They belong to the honorable King Sera. Their appearance only means one thing, that is the arrival of the Griffin Legion.

The Dawn Fortress was handed over by the Kingdom of Serra to the hundreds of thousands of Dawn believers to house the believers that the Holy See bought from Ryan. However, the importance of the Dawn Fortress is self-evident, not to mention that it was conquered by King Serra himself.

Therefore, the military defense here is still in the hands of King Serra.

Prince Sera, the crown prince of the kingdom, Otto McReynolds appeared in the sky in person. The deterrent power brought by the Griffin Legion made many clergymen shrink their heads. On the contrary, the believers on all sides of the fortress showed dissatisfaction, as if they felt that the griffins blocked the light of dawn.

"What are you doing?"

Otto shouted loudly, landing in the palace where the clergy of the Dawn held their meetings.

"For the faith of the Dawn and for the holy war, we share the same goal with the Kingdom of Serra. The Kingdom of Andara must return to the embrace of the faith of the Dawn."

Sven said piously, even at this time praying to the morning light.

"Is that so? That's no problem. We have already dispatched troops to the north in accordance with the order of His Holiness the Pope."

"But what does this have to do with you?"

"Don't forget, the war should be handed over to the Kingdom of Sera, instead of letting your church command the army on its own."

"Don't you remember what you promised?"

Otto reminded, looking at the clergymen who sneered.

"We signed a contract at the beginning, and the Lord of Dawn witnessed that the staff of the Church had no right to interfere in the war between the Kingdom of Serra and the nobles. Even if it was a war for the Dawn, you had no right to do so."

Ryan took away the military power of the Dawn Branch of the Serra Kingdom and gave them wealth from taxes in exchange. Because of this tax, the clergy here became extremely fat, and their level of enjoyment was in no way inferior to that of the noble lords in the territory.

Sven looked at the clergy around him and asked:

"Is this happening?"

No one responded until a long time later, someone said:

"The followers of Dawn will participate in the war of the Kingdom of Sera by providing assistance, rather than directly entering the war, which would result in the death of many innocent lives, which is something the Lord does not want to see."

Some people said this, and the reason they didn't tell Sven the truth was that when the contract was signed, Sven was not a beneficiary. He did not receive any benefits other than taxes, nor was he qualified to directly participate in collecting taxes.

In other words, missionary Sven did not get a share of the pie.

At the same time, these clergymen have gotten to know Sven over this period of time, and they can see that Sven is a Dawn Ascetic who cannot be impressed by wealth, and they cannot turn Sven into one of them.

So of course they can't tell the real truth.

Even now, after Otto reminded them of this, the clergy present all began to reject the missionary Sven tacitly, thinking that they were not of the same kind.

Different interests created a rift between the clergy and Sven.

But... isn't this what we want?
Sven had just become the person in charge, but he had already had a rift with other clergymen. So next time, when the Dawn Church sends other leaders to the Serra Kingdom, these clergymen will still have rifts with each other.

The relationship between a powerful dragon and a local snake.

The best thing about the Dawn branch of the Sera Kingdom is that it never has a leader.

Sven smiled in his heart. He did so on purpose. His performance in the past two months finally paid off at this moment. His Royal Highness Prince Otto really cooperated well.

Anyway, what he becomes has nothing to do with him. He is not a servant of Dawn. He is loyal to Master Ryan. Even if it is a belief, it is in the name of the God of Light.

Praise the light.

Sven smiled, then looked at Otto.

"Your Highness Otto, how do you want us to help the war between the Kingdom of Sera and the Kingdom of Andara?"

"Send all your priests here. The Andara Kingdom has magicians to provide life-restoring magic to the soldiers. Damn it. Also send a team of about 10,000 people as logistics personnel to transport supplies."

When the war really came, Otto finally discovered a problem, that is, as an old kingdom, the foundation of the Andara Kingdom is still more capable of supporting the war than the Serra Kingdom.

In contrast, in the Kingdom of Sera, warehouses everywhere are empty.

Count Moses of the Andara Kingdom is more capable than the logistics nobles of the Serra Kingdom, and the Andara Kingdom has the support of more great nobles.

(End of this chapter)