Throne of the North.

Chapter 573 Knight's Blitzkrieg (Part 1)

When Ryan arrived in the Kingdom of Carlos, the nobles there were still discussing whether to withdraw their troops or maintain a standoff.

The emperor still hadn't decided what to do, and he was trying to gain some confidence from his faith in the light.

The emperor's indecisiveness resulted in no orders being sent to the Kingdom of Carlos, and the nobles discussed among themselves how to report to the emperor.

At that moment, Ryan arrived.

“Divine punishment destroyed the royal city of Carlos; it was the will of the Lord of Dawn, who punished heretics.”

"He punished heretics, so the royal city of Carlos turned to ashes, but He did not cause any damage to the nobles and lands of the empire. Therefore, in His eyes, the Flor Empire was not heresy or traitor."

The principle behind the saying "Everything is permissible unless prohibited by law" is the same.

"If the Lord of Dawn is punishing because of the changes in the empire, then why is the divine punishment falling on the royal city of Carlos and not the imperial capital of Flor?"

Does it matter to mortals whether He awakens or not?

"When the great God awakens, His people have a strong faith. Does faith disappear when He sleeps?"

"The peak witnesses false faith, while twilight witnesses devout believers. The empire's faith in the light is unparalleled. Whether it is asleep or awake, the people of the Flor Empire praise the light with devotion."

"We remain steadfast in this faith, both in life and in death. Even if the people of the Empire cannot enter the eternal Kingdom, they will still devoutly serve the great Lord of Light!"

Instead of preaching among the nobles, Ryan went to the army, where his words were more effective.

"If we believe in heresy, may the great gods grant us destruction; if our faith remains steadfast, may the immortal light still warm our bodies tomorrow."

The next day, amidst cheers, Ryan went to the circle of nobles.

"I have already met His Majesty."

Ryan addressed the nobles and then told everyone that he wanted to start a war.

The nobles were all hesitant; under divine punishment, no one could change their attitude as quickly as Ryan.

"His Majesty has allowed me to participate in the war in the south. None of us want the Dawn Church to win, otherwise this land we have occupied at the cost of countless riches and people will be handed over to the Church again."

"At that time, the Empire lost everything in the war with the Papacy."

"They may even lose their future, as the nobles of the southern lands will support the Dawn Church, which they do not wish to support, to crush the Flor Empire."

"Therefore, we need a victory."

The nobles were tempted; it was unknown how many were swayed by Ryan's words, but none of them wanted to lose everything after the war's defeat. They had already divided up this land, and now they were being asked to give back what they had taken.

They were extremely unwilling.

"We cannot win. Under divine punishment, any army will collapse and perish."

A baron said fearfully that all the nobles had exhausted all means to escape the divine punishment, and he did not want to face it again.

Ryan hesitated for a moment, then said:

Will the Vatican impose divine punishment a second time?

No one answered, because nobody knew.

"The one who commands the Papacy's army is an archbishop."

The speaker was Commander Claire, the Rock Knight, who had managed to find information about the opposing commander, but this answer was clearly unsatisfactory.

In the aristocratic and papal system, the position of an archbishop is no less than that of a high-ranking noble; it is a position of great prestige.

However, compared to the severity of divine punishment, it seems insignificant. If an archbishop can carry out such divine punishment, then what about the cardinals? What about the pope? And what about the old, devout priests and other such old fogies within the Vatican?

If even an archbishop can be subjected to divine punishment, it proves that divine punishment could very well occur to clergy members who are even more influential than archbishops.

Thinking of this, even more nobles backed down.

However, the nobility have no need for these people.

"In any case, we need to regain our confidence in war, otherwise the empire will decline from this day forward. Divine punishment... Didn't you all survive divine punishment?"

The nobles looked at Ryan with displeasure. What did he mean? Were they supposed to still be inside?
"Divine punishment, it has to be able to kill us to be called divine punishment."

As soon as Ryan finished speaking, the nobles near him instinctively moved away from the Baron of the North.

Although they were all blasphemous nobles, they never actually intended to commit blasphemy.

In contrast, Ryan's remarks seemed even more blasphemous.

Ryan looked at the nobles' reactions and suddenly laughed.

"What I mean is, wouldn't it be better if the divine punishment summoned by the archbishop of the Papacy didn't fall on our heads?"

The nobles still didn't react. Ryan underestimated the awe that humans in this extraordinary world, who had been raised by the gods for countless years, held for Him.

He took a deep breath, his eyes hardening.

"No matter what, I will start the war and achieve a resounding victory."

"Whether you choose to follow or not."

Few of the nobles present held a lower rank than Ryan, yet at this moment his aura overshadowed everyone else, even the Grand Duke Meyers who was staring at him.

“You have no reverence for the gods whatsoever.”

Meyers made a public statement, labeling Ryan as a heretic.

Ryan smiled and faced the Grand Duke directly, showing no fear of the man's status.

"No, Your Excellency, it is precisely because I possess sufficient reverence and devout faith that I have made this decision."

He pointed at everyone present and said with a sneer:

"I want to know, what kind of arrogant and powerful mortals would think we are qualified to be compared with gods?"

"Just how arrogant must one be to think that the great being of the sky would lower its head to watch our war?"

"Is it because these people were once blasphemers? Because of their blasphemy, do they think that even gods are nothing more than that?"

"And I, precisely because I have a sufficiently devout faith in my heart, believe that the light favors His people, and I also believe that even the most powerful nobles are not worthy of His joy or anger."

"Your Excellency, are you qualified to participate in the same banquet as the God of Light?"

Grand Duke Meyers stared at Ryan, his eyes dark and unresponsive. Was he implying he wasn't qualified? He had never uttered such a statement. A grand duke was already a first-rate nobleman in the world; even the emperor wouldn't stop him from entering the palace on his first visit.

But is he qualified? I'm afraid the blasphemous descriptions would spread throughout the world the very next day.

“We all deeply understand that great beings reveal their emotions through the birth and destruction of the world. Humanity is too insignificant, and human wars can only arouse the greed of the great rulers in the abyss.”

"Faith belongs to the great Lord, whether it be dawn or light, but victory in war belongs to the Empire and the Papacy."

Archbishop Doyle of the Papacy wanted to define the nature of war as faith in the gods, but now the veil around Ryan's waist has been drawn down, telling us that human war belongs to mortals.

"I will crush them no matter what."

Ryan sat in his seat, raising his head to look arrogantly at everyone present.

"Baron, how do you intend to win this war? The Holy See's clergy and magic are very powerful, and we have already lost many soldiers. The army gathered in the south outnumbers us several times over."

Many people were eager for a victory in the war, but they didn't know how to win the next battle. The defenses of the royal city of Carlos and the surrounding area had been destroyed. Facing the much larger Papal coalition and those extraordinary legions, they were at a huge disadvantage.

"If victory in war could be achieved simply by outnumbering the enemy, then what would be the point of having people?"

Ryan looked at the nobles and knew that it was impossible to get the majority of them to agree to his decision at the meeting, so he simply got up and left.

"You may have all your fears, but I hope that on the day I return in triumph, you will all present me with flowers."

Ryan certainly wouldn't go into battle alone; he wasn't that brave.

He wasn't alone; he also had his count father.

“Your Excellency, I wish to borrow three thousand Flame Dragon Knights from you.”

Ryan, speaking to his father as a baron, was looked at by Earl Clayton, who inquired about his purpose.

"For victory in the war, for His Majesty the Emperor to regain his confidence in the Papal War, for you to become a Grand Duke, and for me in the North not to lose precious time to develop my territory because of this damned Southern War."

“We all need a powerful empire, an empire that can stand up to the Dawn Church head-on.”

Earl Clayton fell silent. No nobleman could remain unmoved by divine punishment, not even he.

"Three thousand Flame Dragon Knights, plus the two thousand knights you brought, that's five thousand men. Are you confident?"

These five thousand people are a completely extraordinary legion.

"It will not fail."

Ryan gave such a firm answer.

"Besides that? Do you need more troops? Lord Sterling's arcane legion, he should be able to lend them to you."

"I only need cavalry, but... I also need a legend."

……

Roar! ! !
The legendary fire dragon flapped its wings and roared, and all living beings submitted to its might. Its enormous wings soared through the sky. Ryan looked up and thought that this legend was enough to deal with any legendary threats he might encounter along the way.

Ryan led his army across the ruins of the royal city of Carlos. He took a moment to glance at the huge pit. The power of divine punishment was indeed terrifying, destroying all the future of this land. If anything fell into that dark pit, it probably would never be able to climb out again.

The nobles' fears were justified; even nuclear explosions can have lucky survivors, but divine punishment can mean certain death.

but……

You have to be able to hit him first.

"Remember, never linger in battle."

Ryan had warned his followers, especially Bogeld, for the umpteenth time. He glanced at the girl and pouted in dissatisfaction, but dared not refute her.

"Griff, our eyes, the war ahead depends on you."

Ryan spoke to Griff, and the silent falconer nodded, leading five or six men on horseback as they galloped away, followed by blood eagles overhead, until they disappeared from sight.

"We're going to the rebel lands south of the Kingdom of Carlos."

Five thousand extraordinary cavalrymen—this is a formidable force. Ryan is certainly confident of victory in the war. In fact, if we disregard the influence of high-end combat power, such as legendary figures, he could lead these five thousand knights to carve through the southern lands.

"The army assembled by the Papacy is enormous. They should have slowly assembled and then launched an attack on the Kingdom of Carlos, but it is clear that Archbishop Doyle was eager to claim all the credit for himself, and ordered the 200,000 troops directly under the Holy Mountain to launch the attack ahead of schedule."

"After the war of divine punishment ended, the nobles of the southern lands feared the will of the gods, so they sent out more elite soldiers to catch up with the slave army that had been sent out before, in order to show their loyalty to the dawn."

"Such behavior has undoubtedly slowed down the advance of the troops, to the point that now, large numbers of troops are advancing slowly due to their varying speeds."

"They failed to assemble a large army."

"This is our chance to win."

"I want them to face defeat before they even assemble."

"But before that, we need to find a way, a way to get around them."

Because of the death of King Kaan Diaz and the upheaval in the Kingdom of Carlos, more than a third of the southern lands of the kingdom have completely declared their betrayal of the Carlos royal family and recognized Crown Prince Ekdar's status. The remaining noble territories have also been swept up in the chaos, making the area extremely chaotic and unable to even manage the war between the Empire and the Papacy.

The arrival of the Carlos royal army undoubtedly exacerbated the chaos, filling the land with war every day.

Does that mean all the nobles recognized Ekdal? Not really. After the arrival of the Carlos royal army, all sorts of insidious betrayals and repeated betrayals occurred, to the point that when Ryan's army arrived, the nobles here didn't know who they belonged to.

Ryan led five thousand extraordinary knights across the flat land, terrifying everyone who saw him. When the banner of Rhinoceros Horn Mountain appeared at the edge of a large battlefield, the Carlos royal army lost all fighting spirit and quickly withdrew.

A war that should have been brutal ended so hastily and frivolously, leaving many people bewildered.

Ryan ignored these wars that could be called background, but after seeing Carlos's banner and running in fear, he led his army toward the battlefield and then saw Ekdal.

It's terrible. The former crown prince has now been reduced to personally leading an army to claim his honor.

Ryan had no connection with the other party, and shouted loudly from afar:
"Under the banner of the Empire, there is no place for the bloodline of Carlos!"

"If you wish to become the ruler of this land, then after you have established your rule, you would be best advised to offer your friendship to the emperor of the empire!"

There were three kinds of banners in the army behind Ryan: one was the emblem of Rhinoceros Horn Mountain belonging to him, another was the Flame Dragon Banner of Earl Clayton, and the last one was of course the Flower of Paradise of the Flor Empire.

Five thousand extraordinary cavalrymen thundered across the battlefield where a fierce battle had recently taken place. Countless people watched them, not daring to breathe. The fear brought by the previous war was not as severe as the paleness on their faces at this moment.

After giving a subtle hint to the nobles of the land, Ryan successfully used overwhelming force to make them ignore their intrusion, even though it was a serious diplomatic incident—their warhorses trampling farmland and trespassing on noble territory.

(End of this chapter)