Throne of the North.

Chapter 592 The Grand Duke's Curtain Falls (Part 5) The Grand Duke's True Curtain Falls

Zel Beckett, Viscount Beckett, is a viscount from the Volga province. He has half-Freming blood, and his great-grandfather was once the uncle of the First Duke of Freming.

Viscount Beckett was naturally present during the change of power in Freming, and like Lane, he was an ally within the political faction of the Grand Duke of Freming.

Ryan still remembered this viscount. In Ryan's opinion, he was an outstanding nobleman outside of the fat and bloated nobles of the Empire, with his own ideas. However, Ryan noticed him because Viscount Beckett was crying out in the palace about the lack of food. In order to support the war, the Beckett family had paid a heavy price.

Simply put, it's about playing the victim to gain the sympathy and attention of the nobles, thereby enhancing the prestige of the Viscount Beckett family.

The nobles of the Volga province haven't stopped brewing wine this year or last year, so they're definitely not the ones who are suffering.

Of course, none of that is the key point. The key point is that a hundred meters in front of Ryan, Viscount Beckett's body was in a very gruesome state.

This is truly terrible.

Viscount Beckett, along with Viscountess Beckett, Viscount Beckett's eldest son, and fifty soldiers, all died on the road.

The knights and commoner slaves around him did not belong to Viscount Beckett, but to the nearby Baron Charlize.

In this world filled with wastelands and wild beasts, complete roads exist only within territory, and it is common to borrow roads.

But it was not common for nobles to die on the road. Baron Charlize was terrified. The death of a viscount on the road in his territory would be a huge blow to his reputation, no matter what the outcome.

The arrival of Ryan's army made the baron feel as if he had found a pillar of support, or perhaps he just wanted to get rid of the matter immediately.

“Viscount Beckett passed through my territory yesterday, but I never expected him to die here.”

"What kind of evil criminal dared to kill the noble viscount?"

Baron Charlize spoke in a trembling voice, not only out of anger at the viscount's death, but also out of immense fear at the killing of a nobleman.

The servants had already positioned themselves to protect Ryan and Earl Winter. A ten-man squad went to investigate and quickly returned with a non-threatening answer.

Ryan rode forward. The Beckett family's deaths were gruesome; their eyes were wide open, and their pale, cold bodies were marked with signs of terror. Soldiers lay scattered around them, their corpses not far from the carriage.

"It looks like a battle we can't fight back against."

If the battle could be fought, there was no reason for dozens of soldiers to huddle together. It was clear that these soldiers were also afraid. They instinctively moved closer to their lord. If they were not afraid of being killed by the nobles, they might have collapsed and fled the moment they met.

"The methods of the Dawn Church."

Ryan quickly got the results. He had dealt with the Vatican—the Black Swan—several times before.

The wounds inflicted by that kind of rapier cannot be imitated.

For some reason, this result actually relieved Ryan. When he saw the nobleman being assassinated ahead, he thought it was a warning or a trap set by Grand Duke Meyers after a disagreement with him.

“Send the body back to Viscount Beckett’s territory. As for Baron Charlize, you’ll probably have to make a trip to the capital.”

Before Baron Charlize could turn pale, Ryan suddenly looked up with a serious expression.

"wrong."

He stared at Viscount Beckett's corpse, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Was Viscount Beckett the only one who died?

The viscounts of the Volga province shouldn't have offended the Papacy.

Ryan realized something and gave the order:
"Take the Viscount's body and return to the capital!"

Back at the rear, Earl Winter learned of the situation ahead and his expression turned serious.

Unlike other nobles in the empire, the nobles of the Northwind Province had all been assassinated by papal assassins.

"Is the Papacy massacring the empire's nobles on a large scale?"

Earl Winter was utterly shocked. Even the Papacy in the Northwind Province hadn't dared to do this. Only the Marquis of Northwind had become the unlucky one because of his faith in Light.

That time there was a reason, it was a conflict between the faiths of Light and Dawn, but now it's entirely between the Papacy and the Imperial nobility.

With the end of the reign of the Grand Duke of Freming, countless nobles returned to their territories in all directions from the heart of the capital, and many were assassinated by the Papacy.

Or rather, how many nobles could not withstand such slaughter?
Ryan led his army back to the capital city quickly, carrying the body of Viscount Beckett. When he returned to the capital, unsurprisingly, the news of the nobleman's murder had already caused an uproar in the city.

His Majesty the Emperor, who had been calm during the change of power in the Grand Duke, could no longer sit still; he was furious.

"It's most likely due to the war in the South."

Ryan's guess was pretty much the truth: on the southern battlefield, the imperial nobles killed many clergy, and the Papacy retaliated as a result.

I just didn't expect it to come so quickly.

Inside the capital city, a large number of nobles who had not yet left were filled with anxiety. Fortunately, this was the capital city, and their anxiety turned into anger. The nobles went to the emperor's palace, demanding that the empire retaliate against the Dawn Church in their fury.

"They dared to kill a nobleman; this crime is unforgivable!"

The nobles' attitude forced the emperor to respond. The Templar Knights stationed in the capital set out, and the massive Templar army brought fear to the world as they frantically searched for the followers of the Dawn and the lurking assassins.

To be honest, the methods these papal assassins used to infiltrate were pitifully crude; they even prayed to the Lord of Dawn in some ordinary families.

Many of the believers who were found were killed, and their heads were impaled on both sides of the roads outside the capital city. This was a manifestation of the nobles' anger. As time went by, more and more news of nobles dying on the roads came, and the nobles' emotions became even more intense.

"Kill them! Kill those damned Dawn Missionaries!"

"Kill them all!"

The energy that nobles can unleash is terrifying. If they were previously motivated by self-interest in war, now that their lives are threatened, these nobles will stop at nothing.

Their first task was to summon their own knights and guards.

Letters were sent to various places, with the nobles near the capital province being the most convenient recipients. Large numbers of troops began to gather in the capital province.

Meanwhile, the nobles already in their own territories were equally panicked and angry. They increased their defenses and arranged for a large amount of supplies to be gathered in the provinces where the marquises were located. These resources would be sent to the south, along with a large number of slaves and soldiers.

"The Vatican must bear the consequences of our retaliation."

The nobles gritted their teeth in hatred, and the madness in the territories of the dead nobles was even greater. Take Viscount Beckett as an example. When the viscount died, his heir also died, and Viscount Beckett's grandson became the new viscount in an instant. The first thing the young viscount did upon taking office was to avenge his grandfather and father in order to consolidate his rule.

Previous wars had led Ryan to underestimate the Empire's nobles, as they always needed several months to complete the dispatch of supplies for the southern war, just as the Empire's support had been delayed for a long time after the war in the Royal City of Carlos.

But this time, Ryan saw that in just a few days, a massive amount of war resources were brought out and quickly assembled. The capital city, which was originally quite empty, suddenly became crowded again, with boxes and carriages filling the roads.

Beneath the northern border, the empire's nobles amassed great wealth, all thanks to the spoils of war.

However, the boiling anger of the nobles paled in comparison to the terror of the events that would unfold on this day.

On the second floor of the mansion, Ryan looked towards the north gate of the imperial capital, where a large number of people were gathered. They were all fully armed soldiers, tall and imposing, riding warhorses, indicating that these people were all extraordinary knights.

Thousands upon thousands? No, perhaps even more.

"Grand Duke Russell was assassinated on his way back and is dead." The Papacy's revenge is definitely not something that can be resolved by killing a few minor nobles. That would be to underestimate the Papacy's intentions. A grand duke is their revenge against the Empire, their anger at the Empire for killing the cardinal and a large number of clergy.

But... no one would have known it would be this Grand Duke.

The death of Grand Duke Russell was like a bucket of ice water poured over the heads of the imperial nobles from the North, instantly silencing the previously furious nobles.

Their previous anger stemmed from their courage to be angry; the empire's power allowed even minor nobles to challenge the Pope. However, the Grand Duke's death caused this fear to overshadow their rage.

Anger can overcome fear, but fear can also suppress anger; it all depends on how terrible the event is.

The capital city was eerily quiet all day long, as if no one could process the fact that the Grand Duke had died in just twenty-four hours.

The next day, nobles began to frequently visit the palace.

On the third day, a massive army appeared in droves on the plains outside the capital city, growing in ever-increasing numbers until even Ryan felt uneasy and awe.

He finally received orders to go to the Flor Palace.

……

The Flower of Paradise is carved on the magnificent palace ceiling, and a sharp sword pierces upwards from the ground, reaching the heavens. On the walls surrounding the palace are carved valiant knights and noble emperors. Every detail describes the glory, honor, strength, and greatness of the Flor Empire.

This was Ryan's first time visiting this palace. It was a complex of interconnected rooms, with pillars forged from gold and silver supporting the heavy structure, standing at the highest point of the royal palace complex.

Grand Duke Russell's body lay quietly in the crystal coffin. All the nobles with supernatural powers could see the bloodstains between the Grand Duke's eyebrows. He died by this means.

All the nobles remained silent, not because the scene required solemnity and quiet, but because they couldn't understand how Grand Duke Russell could be dead.

"How...how could he have died?"

Grand Duke Meyers' hands trembled slightly, not from fear, but from disbelief. His relationship with Grand Duke Russell was not good, in fact, it was quite bad. But at this moment, all the grudges disappeared. Grand Duke Meyers stared blankly at Grand Duke Russell's corpse. That face was so familiar, so very familiar, that he couldn't help but want to punch it.

"How could you die? How could you die at the hands of the Dawn Church? Even their divine punishment couldn't kill you. Where is your divine essence? Where is your Pallas's blood? Where is your Earth Priest's pendant? Where is your Book of Truth? Where is your demigod destiny? Your..."

Grand Duke Meyers finally roared out, his voice barely suppressed. As a grand duke, one of the four grand dukes of the empire, their power and status even surpassed those of the kings of Norris. They were powerful, and the reason they held the title of grand duke was because they possessed power that even demigods feared. They challenged the gods because they were blasphemers.

They possess an unparalleled foundation of power, so much so that even gods must show respect to such terrifying strength.

"How could you die?!"

Grand Duke Meyers struck the crystal coffin with a palm strike; his power was terrifying, but fortunately, the crystal coffin was no ordinary object.

Meyers even turned his gaze to a middle-aged man and an elderly magician standing beside him.

"Anselmo, did you kill him?"

Anselmo Russell, the Grand Duke of Russell, has two leaders in each generation: a powerful Grand Duke and a wise brother. This is a unique feature of the Russell family.

If anyone could kill Archduke Russell, it would be his brother, the Russell family's strategist, as only he would be qualified to kill the Archduke by other means.

Anselmo did not speak; he remained silent, his eyes fixed on the corpse inside the crystal coffin.

The middle-aged man next to him stepped forward.

“Your Excellency Grand Duke Meyers, Uncle Anselmo could not have killed my father, nor would he have done so.”

Grand Duke Meyers, however, did not believe the other party's words and coldly laughed:

"So, Galen, was it your idea? You and your uncle killed your father?"

"The young Grand Duke's heir is certainly no match for the Grand Duke," Garen Russell said somewhat angrily.

"Your Excellency Grand Duke Meyers, please watch your words. That is my father."

Grand Duke Meyers did not speak, but turned his gaze to Columbus III on the other side.

His Majesty the Emperor was stunned for a moment, then became furious.

"Is the Grand Duke doubting me?"

"I am the emperor of the empire! How dare you doubt me?"

Grand Duke Meyers remained silent, while on the other side, Grand Duke Rodrigo's gaze was also somber. The death of Grand Duke Russell had the greatest impact on these old friends.

Columbus III, as if his tail had been stepped on, shouted:

"Grand Duke Russell has long since passed the Book of Truth to Galen, and even the divine essence is buried in the scepter of Russell High Castle. The ancient demigod destiny has been bestowed upon the soul of Galen Russell!"

Behind him, Ryan's lips twitched slightly. This emperor was indeed a non-stick pan. He understood that this suspicion had to be resolved here, otherwise, once the nobles left, their suspicion of the emperor would take root.

He must clear himself of suspicion.

The other two grand dukes also looked at Galen Russell in surprise, for the grand dukes' terrifying power was all contained in this successor.
The latter remained silent, then nodded under the Grand Duke's gaze, which was considered an admission.

He was the sole heir of the Archduke Russell, who placed high hopes on him.

"ridiculous!"

Grand Duke Meyers angrily flung his hand away, his anger rising even more as he looked at the corpse inside the crystal coffin.

"How ridiculous! So you're telling me he really died at the hands of the Dawn Church's Black Swan Blade? A Grand Duke, the highest-ranking official in the Empire, assassinated on Imperial soil by the Dawn Church's killers?"

"Ridiculous, disgraceful, this is a disgrace to the entire empire!!!"

No one dared to refute Archduke Meyers's rage. Even Columbus III kept his head down, his anger no less than Archduke Meyers's, for this was also his shame, his stain. The empire's archduke had died during his reign, and this would haunt him for life.

What a provocation this is to His Majesty the Emperor, who loves non-stick pans!

"I will awaken the Sanctuary and open the gates of the Florian Scepter. The Sun Corona Legion will wage a great war against the Dawn Church, and the Dawn Church must bear the price of killing Grand Duke Russell."

"The Empire must instill fear in the Dawn Church."

Columbus III turned and left, leaving Archduke Meyers stunned. He then realized the devastating impact the deaths of Archduke Russell and numerous nobles had on the Emperor's prestige, something the Emperor cared about most.

Moreover, the Sunbeam Legion, the leading extraordinary legion among the six most powerful legions of the empire, belongs to the royal family, and its power has forced them to be sealed away.

That was also the only army in the Extraordinary Legion that truly pushed itself to the limit.

The next day, Grand Duke Freming also returned. He had only recently left to retire to his territory, but he had returned to the capital city so soon.

This was supposed to be a grand celebration of the change of power among the Grand Dukes of Freming, but who could have imagined that the first Grand Duke to fall would be Russell?

And the first person to be crowned in the power transition was no longer Ferredias Fleming.

Galen Russell became the new Grand Duke, acquiring hereditary power earlier than Fredias.

(End of this chapter)