Throne of the North.

Chapter 587 Bringing the World into a New Era of Extraordinary Power (Part 5)

Nobles can easily find a thousand slaves, but even the Dawn Church would need a great deal of time and resources to train a thousand extraordinary soldiers.

Such losses are inevitable in war, but it is especially heartbreaking if only one side suffers losses.

The empire's intensified propaganda further fueled the Papacy's resentment.

Archbishop Doyle also began to face pressure; he needed victory to consolidate his power, but he found that the commanders of the three extraordinary legions were starting to disobey him.

The ten extraordinary legions of the Holy See already possessed immense freedom and power, and even Archbishop Doyle could not forcefully interfere with them.

When there are no conflicts, the three extraordinary legions do not mind the arrangements made by the Archbishop of Mount Holy.

The loss of the angelic servants clearly caused dissatisfaction among the three extraordinary legions towards Archbishop Doyle.

“We will launch the attack on our own; the Empire’s defenses cannot stop us.”

Kialdil looked at Archbishop Doyle with an ever-condescending gaze; few on the Holy Mountain could make this powerful legend bow his head.

Archbishop Doyle clenched his fist, but offered no rebuttal, only saying at the end:
"I hope that Commander-in-Chief of the Kialdil Legion will be able to successfully defeat the Empire's resistance."

He was patient; as long as he could defeat the Empire, he could squeeze out the former Cardinals and become the new Cardinal.

While the empire's nobles were still basking in the glory of the previous day's victory, the Papacy launched another attack. Three extraordinary legions appeared at the forefront of the hundreds of thousands of troops. Unless the empire's extraordinary legions also rallied together, they were unable to confront them head-on.

But if that were the case, everything would revert to the initial state of war, which is not what the Empire wants.

"Give them to them."

The nobles began to retreat, and the defensive line facing the Papacy's army was undoubtedly abandoned at this moment.

Freud was somewhat unwilling to accept such a defeat, but Lane, who was next to him, told him about the cruelty of war.

"Mercy should not be seen on the battlefield, and besides, the victory of this war will not be achieved on the battlefield."

The three extraordinary legions, with hundreds of thousands of troops, launched a frontal attack. The empire's numerous extraordinary legions could only create chaos in the rear of this army. While the knights were slaughtering the allied forces of the southern nobles, the three extraordinary legions of the Papacy were also slaughtering the garrison of the empire's defenses at an even faster pace.

The arrival of extraordinary power was something that ordinary people simply could not contend with. Countless people finally realized the danger and began to fear the army composed of superhumans.

The nobles of the southern lands were not blasphemous nobles; at this moment, they finally understood the terrible changes that had taken place in the empire over the past century, and that the familiar empire of the past was long gone.

The world's attention was no longer blocked; they focused on the battlefield on the land of the Kingdom of Carlos, analyzing who would emerge victorious.

"Victory will surely belong to the great Lord of the Dawn, and the glory of my Lord shall not be profaned."

Archbishop Doyle prayed devoutly, enveloped in a magnificent holy light. This archbishop, who had been fortunate enough to receive divine blessings, was climbing towards higher peaks in the midst of war.

All around, 100,000 devout believers bowed their heads in prayer. The eerie silence on the boiling battlefield was terrifying, but because of this, no one could see that the dark power in the void tore open a crack, and a demonic figure emerged from it.

Rosalind, a follower of Archduke Meyers and a powerful legend who hunts in the Abyss, wielded a black crossblade and sliced ​​it across Archbishop Doyle's neck.

The archbishop's head fell off so easily and was caught by Rosalind's large hand. Only then did Archbishop Doyle slowly open his eyes, staring blankly at the cross-shaped weapon that did not meet the standards of a normal weapon.

His eyes showed confusion, which turned to fear in the next moment, and he weakly spoke:
"The evil blade of the apostate..."

Throughout the long history of the Papacy's rule over the world, many powerful apostates have emerged, but of all these apostates' weapons, only one has become infamous: the evil priest who turned the Papacy's sacred cross into a weapon for slaughtering believers.

His weapon had long been sealed in an unbreakable place, so why... is it here?

Yes... that unsolvable place was originally within the territory of the Flor Empire.

The power and resources of the nobility were far more terrifying than he had imagined. The cross-blade had no sharp edge; it would probably take brute force to break the head of a slave, but it was easier to kill the believers of the Papacy than any divine weapon.

The various divine blessings bestowed upon the clergy of the Holy See seemed to have no effect in its presence.

It was originally a priest's weapon, and the blessing also came from many priests of the Vatican.

Archbishop Doyle's eyes dimmed; his soul could not even ascend to eternal heaven before this weapon.

The archbishop died, and his kneeling body fell to the ground, only after the surrounding 100,000 believers and soldiers belatedly realized what was happening and looked up at the archbishop's gushing blood.

They stared at the head Rosalind held in her hand, their fear quickly turning to rage.

"The archbishop is dead."

"That is the weapon of evil, the depravity of apostates."

“Kill him…”

Countless murmurs turned into a boiling roar.

"Kill him! Kill him!"

The eyes of the 100,000 believers burned with rage. Under the radiance of the priests, everyone's eyes became holy and shone with a snow-white light. Rosalind tried to escape but found that even the void was frozen.

His expression turned serious. The Papacy's methods were indeed difficult to guard against. A century of struggle still left the Empire unable to fully understand this terrifying Dawn Faith.

He tucked his head into his waistband, gripped the cross weapon in both hands, and charged towards the 100,000-strong army of believers swarming toward him.

"Rosalind succeeded."

Grand Duke Meyers told Freud about the death of Archbishop Doyle. Because the Grand Duke had already chosen another elector, his communication with Freud on the southern battlefield was limited to matters of identity and duty.

Upon hearing that Archbishop Doyle had been killed, Freud was momentarily surprised, knowing that the war had been won.

……

Kiartil punched Rosalind in front of him. The power of the demon made this legendary demon hunter physically strong and immortal, but Rosalind was no match for the Templar commander. In just a brief exchange, he felt the great restraint of the opponent's holy power on him.

Rosalind dared not fight for long, as she was surrounded by an army of 100,000 believers who had wounded her much earlier than the legion commander, Kialdil.

As Kialdil continued to release the seal within his body, he naturally wouldn't let Rosalind, who was trying to escape, go. He was indifferent to Doyle's death, but it would be a disgrace for him if the imperial legend in front of him escaped.

Just as Kialtil was about to unleash even greater power, on the distant battlefield, the Empire's noble army had already begun to encircle the three extraordinary legions of the Papacy.

The key was not the encirclement on the battlefield. With hundreds of thousands of noble troops, the Papacy always had the upper hand in the war, and the Empire's extraordinary legions dared not get too involved in the center of the battlefield.

However, the legends of those empires can inflict heavy casualties on the Extraordinary Legion, and they are doing just that.

Kialdil looked at Rosalind, then turned to look in the direction of the Templar Legion; he needed to make a decision.

Kill the murderer in front of you, but the Templar Legion will suffer heavy losses. Go and rescue the Templar Legion, and then the murderer in front of you will probably escape the encirclement of the believers' army.

A legend is hard to kill, and a legend is also hard to kill by a large number of soldiers who use their lives to overwhelm him.

A moment later, Chiartirr smashed Rosalind into a deep pit with his sword, and then chose to quickly move towards the direction of the Templar Legion, which was his.

After the arrival of the Papacy's legends, the Empire's legends ceased their pressure on these enemies. They feared the worsening of the injuries inflicted by Cardinal Tower Walter within them, and were therefore cautious of death, the nobles being no exception. Without the arrival of such a game-changing power as the legends, the extraordinary legions on the battlefield were hesitant to attack each other, and the chaos became clearer as the sky darkened.

Archbishop Doyle died as if in vain; apart from the uncontrollable rage displayed by his army of 100,000 believers, there were no major conflicts.

The archbishop's death was certainly not in vain. The fact that he was killed by the traitorous priest's weapon was immediately known to the Holy Mountain, which displayed an anger even stronger than that of war.

The Pope did not remain indifferent; he had been a secret supporter of Archbishop Doyle's campaign to overthrow a cardinal, and this earthly figure who wielded the faith of dawn was now utterly silent in his anger.

The clergy on the holy mountain also fell silent. Those who knew the Pope well understood that this meant the Pope was truly angry.

This Pope's outward appearance—being kind and amiable to slaves and raging in front of clergy—is merely a facade and does not reflect his true emotions. The Pope who is truly controlled by his emotions is always silent.

Such a pope would demonstrate ten times the shrewdness and competence of his predecessors.

As expected, after the silence ended, the Pope did not shout angrily, nor did he condemn the evil forces of the Empire; he simply issued orders.

"The kingdom's army should be judged and punished for deceiving my Lord, and those who are my Lord's followers must show true faith."

“Archbishop Doyle cannot die in vain at the hands of the Empire, nor should Cardinal Ta Walter die meaningless. They are both devout servants of our Lord, and the Empire must pay the price.”

"The traitor's weapon, the Dark Cross that killed three popes, is in the possession of Grand Duke Meyers of the Empire? Take it back, Mikael. I need you to lead the Holy Word to bring the traitor back."

"The Papacy's wars have failed time and time again. Is your faith still loyal to the great Lord of Dawn?"

The Pope's final rage overwhelmed everyone on the holy mountain; even the cardinals bowed their heads and knelt before him.

In the sky, a dragon carried thousands of missionaries to the battlefield of Carlos, and as expected, a cardinal in red robes came to the Holy Mountain to take charge of the matter.

This cardinal named Mikael was an old acquaintance of the Empire. The first thing he did upon arriving at the battlefield was to pronounce judgment on the crimes of the noble coalition.

“The penitent must prove his pious faith with his life.”

Cardinal Mikael coldly judged the hundreds of thousands of soldiers from the southern land nobles on the battlefield, and then thousands of missionaries around him began to cast divine spells.

The divine power of the Lord of Dawn spread across the vast land, even the dust was shrouded in a hazy holy glow.

"They are purifying!"

After a brief moment of confusion, the clergy from the Imperial Church of Light realized what was happening. Their expressions were filled with horror; these newly appointed priests of Light were still quite inexperienced.

"The Vatican's magic is purifying the souls of those soldiers, turning them into fanatics."

The fanatics will forget their own lives, their families, and everything in their past, leaving only absolute devotion to the Lord of Dawn. They will think of dedicating everything to the Lord of Dawn at all times.

"Is it the same as the Holy Judgment?"

Freud asked, but the priests shook their heads frantically.

"Since it's the opposite."

"The power of divine judgment is a means of judging evil, while the purification spell is a gift to the believers of the Dawn Church. Every believer reflects on why their faith is not fervent enough, so the purification spell is the divine grace that countless believers pursue."

"After being purified, they were happy to be able to dedicate everything to the Lord."

This is the power of brainwashing, and it's not just direct brainwashing through deception, but perfect brainwashing through the power of the divine.

Ryan was deeply moved after hearing this. Brainwashing is an unsolvable method once it is completed, but this brainwashing is actually a real and extraordinary power.

Looking at the sun in the sky, he couldn't help but wonder if the Lord of Dawn, the God of Light, truly knew or cared about what his believers looked like.

Ant wars are always laughable, but not for ants.

Let's see whose sunk cost is greater.

"Kill them."

Ryan proposed an extreme solution.

"Hundreds of thousands of fanatics, they have reason but are willing to rush to the battlefield for the faith of Dawn. Our army cannot stop them. Even if the defense line is completely completed, it will not be able to stop these fanatics."

"Unless we are willing to waste our superhuman legions on these cannon fodder, but that won't do. The Vatican can produce countless such cannon fodder."

"Even if it takes dozens of fanatics to kill a knight, it is still a loss that outweighs the gain for the empire."

"Moreover, the important thing in our war with the Papacy has never been these cannon fodder, but the servants of the Lord of Dawn, the believers of the Dawn Papacy."

“If we kill all these people, the group will be leaderless, and the fanatics will be nothing but a disorganized mess.”

Just like in the Kingdom of Sera, Unicorn Fortress also has more than 100,000 fanatics, but these fanatics worship Archbishop Adriana, and they are not powerful without Adriana's leadership.

The same applies here; the deaths of those clergy members would cause even fanatics to feel panic.

Ryan offered a solution, but the nobles present looked at him with even greater fear.

They were terrified of Ryan's proposal, after all, if they were to do it... the number of clergy who would die would be comparable to the war the Empire waged against the Dawn Church a hundred years ago.

“We’ve already lost a cardinal and a powerful archbishop. If we kill more… wouldn’t that be too extreme?”

It was Brutus who offered the advice; he was unhappy with Ryan's proposal, which was extremely frightening.

Many nobles were growing increasingly hostile towards Ryan, but Ryan seemed unconcerned, laughing as he spoke:
“I have no reason to participate in the Southern War. If the war is lost, I will lead the army of the Frozen Territory back to the Northwind Province, where I still face the threat of the Northern Orcs.”

He was not brought here on the emperor's orders.

“Ryan, your suggestion is dangerous; it will start a whole new war.”

Many of the nobles present had experienced the war waged by Ryan's previous generation.

It was Earl Sterling who spoke up, expressing great concern; if his grandfather was like this, what about the other nobles?

However, there were a few others present who did not react much to Ryan's proposal.

Elector Freud, the departing Archduke of Meyers, and the Earl of Clayton.

Electors are keen to defeat their rivals in war; the Duke of Meyers was once a candidate for such a decision, while the Earl of Clayton thought that his chances of becoming a duke would require a great deal of honor.

The extreme measures instilled fear in the nobles, and they needed to find other ways before this extreme possibility came to pass.

However, this has nothing to do with Ryan.

Grand Duke Meyers prepared to leave the southern battlefield, handing it over to the Elector, whom he had never supported, who was the commander-in-chief, and return to the Empire to see his old friends one last time.

Baron Ryan and the Grand Duke were going the same way.

(End of this chapter)