Throne of the North.

Chapter 603 The Battle to the Heavens (Part Two)

An army of 300,000 believers is undoubtedly a terrifying number, and Archbishop Maddie, who can control so many people, clearly has a powerful background within the Vatican and represents a certain cardinal.

"Can he release the Holy Judgment?"

Earl Clayton was concerned about this matter, but no one around him could answer him. The hundreds of magicians accompanying the army were also unable to offer any advice. In the end, only the Earl could answer his own question.

"Whether he has it or not, we must win this war."

“The nobles in other directions have already used various means to kill a large number of nobles in independent noble territories. The land they have plundered will make them even more greedy. We must defeat this army of believers before they do. Once we cross the Snow Valley, we will be able to directly border two kingdoms and more than thirty noble territories.”

"After the North is covered, the place with the most independent noble territories in the South must fly the Clayton flag."

Katz hesitated for a moment, then asked:
"Father, won't our large-scale killing of nobles cause them to reject us?"

Earl Clayton narrowed his eyes, and after a long while, he said:

"The Pandora's box has been opened. Everyone is a creator of disaster. Let everyone be stained with blood... and no one can stand on high enough to condemn us."

Hearing his father's words, Katz was still somewhat incredulous. When did this terrible disaster begin?
Was it when the Black Swan killed the imperial nobles?

It was probably... probably when Ryan was still on the southern battlefield, when he made that terrible suggestion to the Elector Freud.

Freud was burdened by the defeat of that war, but also by the victory achieved through disastrous means. From then on, he was unstoppable. They secretly used the impoverished nobles of the other world to assassinate the rightful owners of these lands, all of which were actually learned from the Elector Freud.

He did it, and only the nobles did it.

And I love it deeply.

"Won't this... attract the attention of the Abyss? Although the continent of Norris is favored by the God of Light, the demons of the Abyss will never give up."

The speaker was Ivar, a mage who had come from the province of Calais to win over other mages, and was feeling uneasy at the moment.

This world began to be filled with massive amounts of fraud, betrayal, hypocrisy, war, death, fear, and disaster... The demons of the abyss fed on this, but now, because of the sun, they have become vicious dogs that constantly stalk a piece of fat meat.

What you can't have always stirs you up; the demons of the abyss are definitely already lurking around this world.

"They have probably already made their move."

Lord Clayton said that he was alerted to this matter earlier than Ivar.

"Because of the war with the Empire, the Dawn Church's power is no longer sufficient to maintain the search for the alien gods. The demon lords of the Abyss will not let the opportunity pass and will silently erode the faith of this world."

"Most importantly, while the Lord of Dawn is asleep, they are awake."

"This is also part of what seeped out after the Pandora's Box was opened."

"As Clayton, we have a choice: to complete our plan before the gods of the abyss reveal their true colors."

Earl Clayton looked at the surrounding Flame Dragon Knight legion and said:

"As long as we can complete the transformation into a divine kingdom, then even if the world falls into the abyss, we will have the ability to climb out of the abyss."

The two heirs beside him remained silent until Kaz finally spoke up and asked:
"Father, what will happen after the Extraordinary Legion becomes a divine kingdom?"

He looked at Earl Clayton and couldn't help but ask:
Will you become a great being?

Ivar rolled his eyes at Kaz, noting the vast difference between a knight and a mage, with knowledge being a key factor.

"it's out of the question."

Similarly, Ivar looked at Earl Clayton with curiosity. None of them knew that secret; very few nobles in the entire empire knew it.

After thinking for a moment, Earl Clayton spoke.

"Back then, after His Excellency Rice committed blasphemy, he divided the Extraordinary Legion into three phases."

"The first phase was known as an army composed of extraordinary forces."

"That is, the army formed by extraordinary soldiers. At that time, the number of knights was very small. Even the royal family could not form an army of tens of thousands of knights."

"The second stage is the army that purifies the humanity within the soul."

"At this stage, the extraordinary legions have lost much of their humanity. In other words, such soldiers are fearless of death and fearless of who the enemy is. Even if it is a god, they will dare to charge forward."

"After all, one thing must be known: mortals cannot look directly at great beings, because getting too close to great beings will distort the soul of mortals, leading to mental breakdown."

"Only after overcoming this calamity will the Extraordinary Legion be qualified to become the enemies of the gods."

"In the extraordinary path, such beings are called 'familiars' because they are too close to the great beings."

"At the same time, such extraordinary legions will inevitably obtain power beyond humans due to their lack of humanity. For example, the Nightmare Knights of Grand Duke Meyers, one of the four Grand Dukes, can traverse nightmares and control the power of nightmares."

Katz and Ivar both knew this.

The Flame Dragon Knights Legion... lies between the first and second phases.

They haven't fully become a kin, but they've already surpassed the first stage of the extraordinary legion. The humanity in their souls is disappearing from them at a rate of percentage.

"The third phase of the Extraordinary Legion, which Lord Rice calls the Divine Realm."

"At this stage, each soldier in the extraordinary legion is no longer an individual. They will abandon the concept of individuality and integrate their body, soul, and extraordinary primordial energy into a domain, thereby condensing a divine kingdom domain."

"In such a divine realm, the extraordinary legions can suppress the rules, and even change the rules."

Hearing this, Ivar couldn't help but gasp for breath. This was the truth. When I could decide the rules of the world, I was the truth.

"That……"

Earl Clayton interrupted Ivar and spoke directly:
"The four Grand Dukes' extraordinary legions are not in the third stage. They are also pursuing the third stage, but... no one knows exactly where they are. Moreover, I suspect that Grand Duke Meyers' Nightmare Knight Legion may be facing a huge problem."

"The blasphemers created the extraordinary legion using the essence of the gods. How could they not be cursed? One mistake would mean annihilation. And the Nightmare Knights Legion of Duke Meyers suffered too many losses in the war in Twilight Province. This is not normal."

"However, the extraordinary legions of the four grand dukes are not in the second stage either. Their armies... possess the ability to become godlike."

"For example, the Nightmare Knights Legion. They mastered the extraordinary power of nightmares in the second stage, but this power comes from the third stage. Even more obvious is Grand Duke Rodrigo's Elemental Legion. They master the power of elements and can also convert all hostile extraordinary energy into elements."

"However, the Empire has only one extraordinary legion that has theoretically entered the third stage and truly become a divine kingdom."

"The royal family has sealed the Sunfire Legion deep within the capital city, releasing them only at crucial moments. Their power is tantamount to the gods themselves instigating a war."

"Only demigods can fully unleash the power of the Sunfire Legion. I wonder which demigod the royal family has invited to participate in this war."

Earl Clayton's eyes burned with a burning desire. He needed both the third stage of the Extraordinary Legion and the power of a demigod. The fifth Grand Duke of the Empire absolutely could not be without these things.

... Frozen soil territory.

Ryan was concerned about the odds of victory in the battle between the Shadow Vanguard and the Black Swan, as well as the war in the south that was increasingly driving the nobles mad and terrifying them.

Then he was interrupted by Archmage McCann's excitement.

Upon entering the Swadifari wilderness, a gentle breeze greets you; it's a bit cool, but not cold.

Ryan had always worried that this wilderness world would gradually die out. If that happened, Ryan would have no other place to provide the world with hundreds of thousands of wild horses, which were the source of the Northern Warhorses and were second in importance in the Frozen Territory.

First is Nidhogg; the spiritual freedom brought by its two million inhabitants is Ryan's greatest source of confidence.

"I have discovered a possibility, a possibility for the Northern warhorses to integrate into the Northern world."

Archmage McKen spoke with fanaticism in his eyes, and the magical energy around him surged chaotically. The archmage was so excited that he could not control the enormous magical power within him.

"Calm down, Archmage McCann. Whatever the possibility, it hasn't been produced yet, has it?"

Ryan spoke calmly, trying to calm Archmage McKen before listening to his magical achievements over the past few days.

"You come with me."

Archmage McKen invited Ryan into his mage tower for the first time. The rebuilt mage tower had a spacious interior, and Ryan was led to the top. This place was supposed to be a very private place, a pure source of magic, but it was now cluttered with magical materials.

Ryan naturally noticed the large number of Frost Ghost Crystals.

Archmage McKen excitedly handed a crystal to Ryan, who held it and felt a slight warmth.

When I first obtained this thing, it would bring a layer of icy frost to anything it touched.

Does this look familiar to you?

Archmage McCann looked at Ryan with eager eyes, but the latter shook his head blankly. Familiar? Should I be familiar with him?

Archmage McKen gave a cold snort of disappointment, then manipulated his magic to drive Ryan out of the mage tower and onto the plains. This was the horse ranch, where Archmage McKen had lived for many years.

Archmage McKen descended from the mage tower, then led over a warhorse, pulling Ryan's other hand to press against the horse's belly.

Ryan looked at the warhorse with a surprised expression, then looked down at the Frost Demon Crystal in his hand.

Because Northern warhorses are extraordinary warhorses adapted to the Northern world, their blood is not as boiling and hot as that of Highland warhorses. A calm heart is an essential characteristic of a Northern warhorse, and their blood contains the favor of the Northern world, as cold as that of a cold-blooded animal.

No matter how cold it is, it is still a living thing with body temperature. When you reach out to touch it, you will be surprised by the collision of heat and cold transmitted through your skin.

That's the feeling that Frost Ghost Crystal gave Ryan at this moment.

It was supposed to be extremely cold, but somehow Master McCann did something to make it contain heat, thus giving Ryan a warm feel to his skin.

Extreme cold contains an obvious amount of heat.

"Archmage McKen, you're not trying to tell me that this thing can be fused with Northern warhorses, are you?"

Ryan said, and Archmage McKen looked at him in surprise, saying:

“You do indeed have a different way of thinking than others. That’s right, that’s exactly what I’m thinking. If the Frost Demon Crystal could be fused with the Northern Warhorse, then…”

"So, can the Northern Warhorses, like the Frostfiends, control the elemental power of frost?"

“I have heard that your father, Earl Clayton’s Flame Dragon Knights, have warhorses whose hooves burn with flames when they gallop.”

"The warhorses of the North may also gather frost and mist at Horseshoe Mountain."

Archmage McKen said excitedly, and then took out one precious magic journal after another.

"This was given to me by my teacher. He was dedicated to breeding Northern warhorses based on the Highland warhorses, but everything was still in theory, and many of the theories were not even perfect."

"But I saw possibility and hope in it."

“I think it’s possible. Those frost ghosts are also a kind of elemental life form. The frost ghost crystals they leave behind after they die should also carry the attributes of life.”

"Life can evolve and merge."

Ryan agreed with Archmage McKen's words, saying that Frostfiends were born from the bones of great beings and thus contained the essence of life, which was only natural.

However, in essence, this would not be about breeding stronger Northern warhorses through Frostfiends, but rather about directly utilizing the energy of the gods' bones to breed new Northern warhorses.

Thinking of this, Ryan couldn't help but look at Archmage McKen.

"Grand Mage McKen, do you know how the Empire's first blasphemer, Lord Rais, used divine essence to create an extraordinary legion?"

"The remains of blasphemy are probably... a very common step."

Archmage McCann stood there, stunned. Ryan hadn't said it explicitly, but the old scholar understood.

Blasphemy.

This undoubtedly involves blasphemous behavior. He didn't know the origin of the Frostfiends, but since Ryan said so, then this matter is inextricably linked to the gods.

Moreover, it was done when the gods forbade it.

Is it worth it to breed new Northern warhorses, and to do so is blasphemy, a very serious form of blasphemy?
Archmage McKen remained silent for a long time, his body trembling slightly. God, when had he ever imagined that he would one day commit blasphemy? A magician may speak of truth and walk the path of opposing the gods, but this is fundamentally different from subjective blasphemy.

In that instant, he thought of so many things: his time learning from his teacher, the birth of the Highland Warhorse, the countless meditations and breakthroughs he made on his path of cultivation as a mage…

Time ticked by, and the warhorse grew impatient, snorting loudly and pulling Archmage McCann back to reality.

"Even if it means blasphemy and incurring a curse, I will make sure that the Northern Warhorses are purified of their bloodline once again."

"I will prove my teacher and I right. The Highland Warhorse is not the end of the road for extraordinary warhorses. The Northern Warhorse will surpass all other mounts, even dragons!"

Archmage McCann rekindled his fighting spirit, driven more by a sense of acceptance of death; he acknowledged that his actions would bring about his demise.

"Then I wish you, Archmage McCann, a speedy success in your endeavors."

Ryan laughed and said that he didn't care about blasphemy at all. Blasphemy? It was the great being of Swavnir that was being blasphemed. That serpent spirit was dead, and its last power had become the spiritual blessing in Ryan's hands.

Such blasphemy is not as serious as Archmage McCann imagined.

Ryan didn't tell the Archmage the truth. Hiding the secret was one thing, but more importantly, he didn't want Archmage McKen to lose pressure because of it, after all...

The experience accumulated by the empire's nobles over hundreds of years has taught them that if something involves blasphemy, then success can only be achieved after blasphemy.

(End of this chapter)