Throne of the North.

Chapter 570 The Undying Army of the Holy Judgment

Green fields and forests.

The Kingdom of Carlos blocked the widest road leading south from the Flor Empire, but beyond the Kingdom of Carlos lay a vast plain, from which one could travel to the southern lands in countless directions.

The Green Forest is such a place. Through this forest, one can enter three kingdoms and six noble territories. At the same time, the forest is home to the largest number of magical beasts in the area of ​​200,000 square kilometers.

Of course, no matter how ferocious the monsters are, this place is still the heartland of human civilization. After the arrival of the Papacy's army, the Green Forest became completely silent, and this silence has lasted for five days now.

The Templar Legion Commander, Chialtil, stared at Archbishop Doyle before him with cold, murderous eyes. A terrifying power was gathering, as if he were about to strike at any moment.

Archbishop Doyle also disliked this extraordinary legion commander because he did not sense any devout prayer for the Lord of Dawn from him.

“Commander Chiartir, I see no glory of my Lord in your eyes. You have long abandoned your faith, but my Lord has always looked after you.”

"You inspire envy, but your arrogance is the biggest reason for the defeat in the war."

Archbishop Doyle looked at Chialtil, showing no fear of this high-ranking legion commander.

“If I were the Pope, I would strip you of all your faith and control over the Templar Legion.”

"Your responsibility will be judged by the Lord; as for the war to come..."

Doyle paused for a moment, and Chiartier sneered inwardly, already anticipating what the other party would say.

"The war that follows has nothing to do with you. I am not qualified to command the Templar Legion Commander, so I will not allow you to participate in my war."

Kialdil looked at Doyle in surprise. This was not what he had expected. He didn't need his own power?

"In the face of betrayal of the Empire, war should not be the war of the Dawn Church, but the wrath of our Lord."

"You attempted to defeat the Empire with the power of a single human being, therefore you face judgment of failure."

Archbishop Doyle turned and left. His sole purpose in coming here was to prevent the Templar Legion from interfering in the war, even though he possessed a superhuman legion.

“I will let the Empire know that before the wrath of the Lord, everything will turn to ashes.”

……

The mage Lyman was standing quite far away, so he could only see the massive, dark imperial army in front of him, and opposite them, the Holy Mountain army clad in snow-white armor.

Their uniform Dawn-style armor indicates that they are different from the armies of nobles from the southern lands in the previous wars in the Kingdom of Carlos; they are a large army directly under the Dawn Church.

The Dawn Church has ten powerful superhuman legions, but that doesn't mean they only have those ten; their army of believers is vast and numerous.

Mage Lyman and his mage corps remained motionless. They needed to wait for the war to reach its climax. If the imperial army could not end the war in a short time, then the mages would step in to deliver the final blow.

The sound of horns echoed through the sky and across the battlefield, and countless birds took flight from the green forest, soaring frantically towards the safe distance.

The Papacy's army launched its attack. Amid the prayers of the priests, the sky showered down a torrential downpour of holy dawn light. The soldiers were bathed in the divine power of the dawn, and these ordinary men began to gradually possess strength and speed comparable to knights.

"They are very powerful."

A Holy Knight of the Empire looked solemn, but there was nothing to think about at this moment. The army pressed forward, attacked, and charged!
"kill!"

As the two armies clashed and charged, the knights of the Empire and the knights of the Papacy were like small whirlpools, attracting large numbers of soldiers from both sides to the surrounding area. The soldiers below had not yet sensed anything, but the knights of the Empire all changed their expressions drastically.

The longswords in their hands slashed at the army of Papal believers, and the shocking power they transmitted made them feel as if they were facing an attack by a group of apprentice knights. As for the Holy Light Knight who was fighting him head-on, he could feel that his opponent was getting stronger with each battle.

"Divine magic?"

The knights were terrified, but they hadn't sensed any divine magic before. They had been at war with the Papacy for so many years and were familiar with its methods.

Without time to think, the knight, after a brief exchange, wanted to return and report the enemy to the nobles.

However, it was too late. As the battle continued for more than three minutes, tens of thousands of imperial soldiers were killed by the Dawn Church's believers and soldiers, and the knights were surrounded and forced to huddle together for warmth.

The war, which was almost immediately defeated, eventually appeared before the nobles after many battles.

"Each one is comparable to a trainee knight? How is that possible?"

The nobles were also shocked. The birth of a trainee knight requires at least three to five years of dedicated training without engaging in production, and can only be achieved under conditions of abundant resources.

"Let the mage group handle it."

The nobles were somewhat panicked. The best course of action at this moment was for the mages to take action and defeat the army in front of the Papacy. The Dawn Papacy had five armies besieging the Kingdom of Carlos, resulting in each army being small in number.

The army of the Dawn Church they are currently facing only numbers around 50,000 to 60,000 soldiers. If the mages can kill one-fifth of them, the war can be rebalanced.

The mage Lyman, who was in the rear, finally received the call from the nobles. He excitedly flew into the sky, stopped the other mages, and then slowly approached the tragic battlefield alone.

Only legends can influence the outcome of this terrifying battlefield. Mage Lyman's body surged with dark green magic, and he wanted the world to witness his own life rhythm!
Within the vast magical power, green vines emerged like snakes, converging at the feet of the mage Lyman to form a giant green ball. The ball grew larger and larger, slowly expanding and then contracting according to the mage Lyman's will.

Boom, boom, boom!

Like the beating of a heart, the 'Qingtuan' made a faint, fluctuating sound, but as the heartbeat grew deeper and deeper, all the soldiers on the battlefield below felt a deep sense of oppression.

They couldn't help but look up, instinctively feeling that the frequency of the giant heart beating in the sky was the same as the frequency of their own heartbeats.

The rhythm of the 'green glutinous rice ball' made the hearts of thousands of Papal soldiers on the battlefield beat at the same frequency.

With legendary power, killing tens of thousands of people, the legendary gift of the mage Lyman is already powerful enough that no one can withstand the loss of tens of thousands of people in an instant.

"Praise my name."

The mage Lyman's smile vanished, his expression turning solemn. The next moment, the magic around his body erupted like dazzling fireworks, and at the same instant, the enormous 'green dumpling' exploded, scattering millions of ghostwood mycelium droplets like raindrops.

Below, the chests of more than nine thousand Papal soldiers bulged and then collapsed instantly, and the more than nine thousand soldiers who charged at the forefront fell forward with lifeless eyes.

As soldiers fell to their deaths, a deluge of fungal hyphae rained down from the sky, landing on the remaining tens of thousands of Papal soldiers and taking root in their bodies through every crevice.

The mage Lyman was insane. He not only wanted to kill the tens of thousands of Papal soldiers, but also to kill the entire Papal army by himself. Only in this way could he gain a lot of prestige in the empire and the unwavering support of the nobles. His ambition had always been there. After becoming a legend, the mage Lyman was not afraid of any competitors.

"In the dark depths of death, the king of devils awaits your audience."

Lyman lives on the east coast of the Woodland, and as an unjust mage, he has dealt with the Abyss more than once.

The power of the ghostwood mycelium released faith in the abyss within the bodies of those Papal soldiers. Almost instantly, tens of thousands of Papal soldiers were thrown into chaos. The soldiers could no longer care about fighting, their bodies steaming and howling in pain as the Dawn Divine Art within them burned their flesh and blood.

The pain of death may not be more unbearable than this.

At the edge of the Green Forest, Archbishop Doyle raised his head and looked at the invincible legend in the sky. The legend was powerful, and the magician of this legend was also powerful, without a doubt, but there was still no panic in the archbishop's eyes.

“He underestimated you, Pastor Malm.”

Archbishop Doyle looked at the priest beside him, who was the same court priest from the Kingdom of Carlos.

Pastor Malm came out, his expression devout as he prayed for the glory of the Lord of Dawn.

"As a gifted legend, he can certainly look down on me."

"However, he should not underestimate the power of my Lord."

Priest Malm, radiating holy light, swiftly made his way to the battlefield. His radiance helped the soldiers dispel the gloomy mycelium within them, while he looked up at Mage Lyman in the sky.

A battle between a Sanctuary and a Legendary is utterly incomparable, but the priests of the Holy See, their power is never limited by realm.

Their power comes from the Lord of Dawn.

"Glory to my Lord!" Divine power descended upon Malm, and around him, believer soldiers stood up. In that instant, the mycelium within the soldiers ceased to emanate the abyss's aura.

Even the great beings of the abyss feared the majesty of the Lord of Dawn and dared not trespass into His territory.

Visible to the naked eye, the fine, hair-like mycelium of the ghost wood flew up as the soldiers tilted their heads back and opened their mouths. To the horror of Master Lyman, the mycelium turned into a holy white as it floated.

Mage Lyman has been making headlines in the war between the Empire and the Papacy recently, but today he finally feels the terror emanating from the Papacy.

"No matter what kind of magic you have, once the Holy See discovers it, they will have divine magic to counter it."

These were words he had heard countless times in the empire, and today they had become a reality.

The mycelium of the ghost tree is powerful and terrifying, but it can only be most effective in war once.

The pure white mycelium of the ghost wood floated into the sky, towards its master, the mage Lyman who created the mycelium.

The mage Lyman, brimming with magical power, had already become a legend. Of course, he possessed more than just one magical technique; in fact, as a mage outside the empire, he also wielded magic different from his own innate talent.

Fireball.

Flames swirled in the void, attempting to kill the Ghostwood mycelium. This was a weakness of the Ghostwood mycelium that Mage Lyman had discovered long ago; plants are all afraid of fire.

However, the flames failed to reach the sacred mycelium; they passed through the flames and drifted toward Mage Lyman without any hindrance.

The newly crowned legend was filled with fear and unease, but this was not what puzzled him the most.

At that moment, divine power descended from the sky, engulfing Pastor Malm and obscuring his features from those around him. Even more magnificent divine magic spread with his prayers.

One by one, the Papal soldiers regained their fighting ability, their eyes turning completely white. The power of faith replaced all human emotions in their hearts, leaving only the instinct to fight and kill for the Lord.

What was most terrifying was that the nearly ten thousand Papal soldiers who had been killed by the life-pulse magic bestowed by the legendary mage Lyman had risen again.

Did they die? They didn't die before; their hearts burst and their chests collapsed. They didn't actually die.

“Go, let my Lord’s traitors bear the judgment they deserve.”

Behind them, Archbishop Doyle was also praying.

The title of archbishop is not only about status and power, but also signifies that within the entire Dawn Church, there are few who possess a higher level of divine power and blessing from the Lord of Dawn.

He had told the commander of the Chiartir legion that this war was not a war between the Dawn Church and the Empire, but rather the wrath of the Lord of Dawn.

It is the judgment of the gods.

[Divine Art: Holy Judgment]

This divine spell, which is only available to clergy of the Papacy at the level of bishop or above, is meant to punish heretics outside the Dawn Faith, but Archbishop Doyle is now using it on the Papacy's own army.

Their souls will be purified, their minds burned, leaving only puppet-like bodies to become warriors of the Dawn Church.

"Let them receive the punishment they deserve."

The eyes of tens of thousands of Papal soldiers were empty and white; they had even lost their battle cries and were charging madly toward the Imperial army.

The imperial soldiers were terrified and frantically waved their weapons at the sight of the enemy's arrival.

The spear pierced the chest of the Papal soldier, but the soldier, feeling no pain, continued forward, moving from one end of the spear to the other, and then raised his weapon to slash at the Imperial soldier.

"The Holy See's magic is terrifying every time I see it."

Earl Clayton led his Flame Dragon Knights army behind the Imperial army, intending to deal with the Templar Knight legion, but for some reason, he did not see them appear on the battlefield.

On the battlefield, even the most severe injuries could not completely kill the Papacy soldiers. Unless their legs were severed, these Papacy soldiers would continue to charge forward. Faced with such an enemy, the Imperial army had no chance of victory and was defeated in the shortest possible time.

The fleeing soldiers, however, could not outrun the Papal army, whose soldiers had already developed physiques comparable to novice knights.

The one-sided massacre left the nobles powerless, and the mages unleashed their magic, causing widespread destruction. However, having lost their legendary figures, the remaining mages were unable to turn the tide of the war.

In the sky, the mage Lyman was being eroded by his own ghostly mycelium. His flesh and even his soul were being subjected to the divine power of the Lord of Dawn. Blood flowed from his seven orifices, but the blood turned snow-white after it flowed out. His pale skin showed no sign of the vitality it should have.

He landed among the mages, severely wounded, and divine power was still eroding his soul, rendering him unable to participate in the rest of the war.

Beside Earl Clayton, Kaz Clayton looked at his father.

"Father, should we save them?"

At this moment, perhaps only the Flame Dragon Knights Legion can defeat the Holy See's army at the front.

"No, that would be too much of a loss."

"Order a retreat."

Lord Clayton was also the supreme commander of this war.

The sound of the horn, more than three meters long, drowned out all the cries and screams on the battlefield. The nobles had already retreated long ago, and the knights, upon hearing the retreat horn, lost the courage to continue fighting. They led their soldiers to flee while resisting the pursuit from behind.

That's right, they can't just retreat whenever they want; they also need to see if the pursuing Papal army agrees.

Carlos's Royal City.

When they received news of the complete defeat of the Fifth Front, the nobles here were still somewhat incredulous.

"how is this possible?"

"The Holy Judgment Divine Art, they used it on the Holy Mountain soldiers?"

The Empire certainly knew a lot about the Papacy, and upon hearing about the Papacy soldiers' immortality on the front lines, the nobles knew exactly what kind of power it was.

but……

"Have those archbishops' faith turned to the abyss, daring to unleash holy judgment magic on their own soldiers?"

"Those 200,000 soldiers, even if they win, will be completely wiped out. The Vatican is wasting decades of their life force to win a war in just a few days."

The nobles were incredulous and shocked to hear of the defeat, because the commanders of the five fronts were all powerful and wise nobles.

After learning about the Divine Judgment, the nobles began to wonder what the Papacy was up to.

The Empire's life mages have thoroughly analyzed the power of [Divine Art: Holy Judgment]. According to the mages' descriptions, this divine punishment actually uses the power of dawn to forcibly purify the human soul into a chaotic state, and then burns away the human's life potential.

That is, lifespan.

It has a lifespan of ten years, but can be completely burned out in twenty-four hours.

"The Vatican has never done this before."

Before a nobleman could speak, he was interrupted by a member of the Carlos bloodline from the Kingdom of Sera, whose eyes were somewhat red and swollen.

"Do not……"

“In the north, the clergy of the Vatican have done this, and more than once.”

“Ryan Clayton has defeated an army like this twice.”

King Olsen slowly raised his head and said:
"Perhaps, Baron Ryan can help us achieve victory."

(End of this chapter)