Throne of the North.

Chapter 604 The Battle to the Heavens (Part 3)

Strictly speaking, the terrain of Aoxue Canyon is a lowland between two highlands. After the river dried up, it formed the canyon we see today. Nobles liked to use this natural terrain to demarcate their territorial boundaries.

Hundreds of thousands of believers are stationed here, and the daily food and supplies for people and horses are astronomical. Only the Vatican has the capacity to transport such supplies here.

There was no other way; the Dawn Church was worried that the Empire's superhuman legions would launch a blitzkrieg against those noble armies, so it had to bear the costs of the war itself.

This resulted in Archbishop Maddie being very busy, and the surrounding bishops and priests couldn't help but complain that the archbishop was working too hard, preventing them from enjoying themselves properly.

There was nothing that could be done about it. Archbishop Maddie was able to become the commander of this army because the cardinals of the Vatican valued his conscientious and diligent qualities.

Now, facing the Empire's military conflict, the clergy of the Dawn Church no longer dare to underestimate it. They know that they need to send out truly capable people to win this war.

Archbishop Maddie did not object to this and did not hesitate; he saw an opportunity in the war.

He was diligent and conscientious in his work and had not made any mistakes over the years. However, as a clergyman, Archbishop Maddie did not oppose the war against the Papacy. It had nothing to do with faith, but rather he felt that the war gave him an opportunity to advance further.

For someone as capable as him, the absence of war was a torment, as the rigid system of advancement blocked all his avenues. Only war gave him the key to unlock the door to the faith of dawn.

Therefore, Archbishop Maddie wanted to win this war. If he won, he could directly demand more support from the dozens of noble territories and two kingdoms behind him, including the Church of Dawn within those territories.

The nobles of the Empire might spare the defeated nobles some face and wealth, but when it came to the Church of Dawn, those nobles of the Empire clung to them like vicious dogs, causing the Church of Dawn in those noble territories to devote all their resources to supporting the war.

Archbishop Maddie wanted their support, wherever they were.

He also learned that his opponent was Earl Clayton of the Empire, one of the Empire's top nobles, who should have the support of many nobles behind him. He was very powerful, and the combat strength of his extraordinary legion was no less than that of the ten extraordinary legions of the Dawn Church.

The Templar Legion was supposed to be stationed in Snowfall Canyon, but recently an incredibly terrifying army appeared in the Empire, which even the Pope felt fear towards. So, the Legion Commander of the Kialtil led the Templar Legion away.

This put Archbishop Maddie under immense pressure, as the Cardinal behind him promised that he could exhaust the potential of two otherworldly planes to win the war.

The two alternate worlds under the control of the Vatican have a population of about 1.5 million. An army of 150,000 fanatical believers can be assembled. If all of them are consumed, then the two alternate worlds can probably be declared abandoned.

Even the Dawn Believers in other worlds have to pay taxes, and the taxes they pay... are too heavy even for someone like Archbishop Maddie.

Population is the means of paying taxes; without population, those two otherworldly planes would quickly head towards destruction.

Only the clergy within the Dawn Church know the immense pressure the believers face under the Dawn faith.

The Empire mocks the Papacy for its corruption; are the Papacy itself unaware of this?
I know, but knowing and changing are two different things.

Archbishop Maddie knew even better that it couldn't be changed.

The Dawn Church is beyond reforming its corrupt ways; no one can change it, not even the Pope, who would die quickly if he showed such an idea.

His Holiness the Pope probably doesn't want that either; he only wants to bring the empire's faith back into the embrace of the Dawn. He has forgotten the blessings bestowed upon him by the Lord of the Dawn.

Archbishop Maddie disapproved of the Church's current state. He was unwilling to see those two people from another world die. He believed that he, like Archbishop Adriana, was favored by the glory of the Great Lord of Dawn. His appearance was to set things right and restore the Church of Dawn to its former glory.

Archbishop Maddie firmly believed he could do it because the Lord... had given him a divine revelation.

As he walked through the army, Archbishop Maddie carefully inquired about the logistical supplies in each camp, determined not to allow any nobles or clergy to embezzle funds.

All the soldiers who saw him, whether believers or nobles, showed sincere respect and humility. Not to mention, under Archbishop Maddie's leadership, their living conditions improved by an immeasurable amount.

They can even take a bath once a week, which is an incredible blessing. Many people kneel down when they see the archbishop.

This is all normal; after all, they are servants of the Lord, and kneeling before them is an act of devotion to the Lord's glory.

Archbishop Maddie arrived at the heart of the army, where the most magnificent, towering white tents stood. The clergy of the Dawn Church needed this color to demonstrate their devotion to the Lord, for the command post for this army of 300,000 was actually a church.

Bringing a church into the war was no big deal; everyone thought it was perfectly reasonable. The only difference was that not just anyone could enter the church; only Archbishop Maddie and the corresponding war generals were allowed in.

Archbishop Maddie entered the tallest tent, inside which, in this marching church, a dozen people were kneeling devoutly beneath a statue of the Lord, praying fervently.

He found it somewhat amusing. He was already somewhat familiar with these clergy members, but in his memory, they had never acted like this before. Their devotion to the Lord was never like this, kneeling before Him 24 hours a day.

Archbishop Maddie took a deep breath, knelt at the front, and began to chant devoutly.

His voice was naturally the loudest, which surprised and intrigued the clergy kneeling on the ground around him.

These people were already familiar with him. In their memory, Archbishop Maddie was diligent in his work, but that was all he did. The biggest criticism of him on the Holy Mountain was that while he was a man of action, his faith in the Lord was not absolute enough. He could even cancel the day of prayer in order to strengthen his own church.

Archbishop Maddie's refined egoism made him rarely pray to the Lord.

He has never been like this before, spending all his time either inspecting the army or in the church, before the Lord.

They felt that the archbishop seemed to have changed.

Archbishop Maddie also felt that the people around him had changed.

But he didn't care, because the Lord had given him another divine oracle, and based on his subtle probing, he was certain that only he could receive such an oracle.

“My glorious, eternal, and great Lord, your servant prostrates himself at your feet, on the edge of the eternal Kingdom of Heaven, hoping that you will grant your servant a foothold to serve you in faith.”

Archbishop Maddie's soul seemed to have been elevated. He entered a realm of holy light, perhaps heaven itself. Boundless white holy light enveloped his soul, and he was completely immersed in it. He felt his soul becoming stronger, and it was conceivable that the divine magic he had mastered must have become even more powerful, probably no less than the power of a legend.

This was a gift from God to him, Archbishop Maddie firmly believed, and because of this, his faith became even more devout, and he knelt before God to offer everything he had.

"Your servants will bring you the victory of dawn, and the dark soil of the empire will never betray your heavenly realm."

Archbishop Maddie said earnestly, and the Lord had given him his will in the unseen realm.

Go and bring me...more killing and death.

Lord, the Lord himself has given him the will of Dawn! Archbishop Maddie tried to open his eyes. His soul trembled with immense excitement. The Lord had spoken to him. The Lord had acknowledged him. The Lord believed that he was the true servant who would save the Dawn Church from decay.

Archbishop Maddie's soul was stirred, causing him to withdraw from the realm of the divine. When the archbishop opened his eyes, he felt somewhat annoyed and regretful, lamenting that he had failed to witness the holy dawn of the Lord.

That's normal, though. I don't want to become an angel or a follower of the Lord yet. Luckily, I haven't opened my soul's eye.

Archbishop Maddie glanced at the clergy who were still praying around him and couldn't help but feel a sense of scorn.

“You lot, even if you kneel until you die, you will never receive the Lord’s oracle.” Archbishop Maddie glanced outside; it was already dark. He still had to inspect the army to prevent any unrest from the troops from the noble territories and kingdoms, which would affect his promise to the Lord.

Death, more killing and death. He needed to show his loyalty to the Lord, but he didn't want the Papacy soldiers to die, so he could only ask the nobles and the kingdom's army to do the same.

Those noble lords and kings, openly or secretly harbored disloyalty to the Dawn faith, and Archbishop Maddie didn't even care if their armies were wiped out.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but go to patrol those noble armies. He wanted to arrange where they would charge based on their combat strength, so that he could bring about a lot of deaths and win the war.

Archbishop Maddie left the church, while the dozen or so clergy inside continued to pray, as if prayer could replace sleep.

This was of course impossible. Their souls remained active, but their bodies were exhausted. One bishop's eyelids twitched wildly, and when he suddenly opened his eyes, he revealed scarlet pupils. An evil aura permeated his pupils, but the next moment, the echoing sounds of dawn prayers around him suppressed this evil.

The bishop's lips twitched, revealing sharp, black fangs. He trembled, pleading for the Lord's forgiveness in fear, but in the next moment, the power within his soul overwhelmed his body from the inside out.

The bishop's death was noticed by those around him, but no one paid any attention, as if it were normal in their minds. Death did not cause any emotional turmoil for them, and they were completely unaware that it was the trace of the other's death.

The remaining people continued their devout prayers, while above them, the towering statue of the Lord of Dawn had somehow become grotesque.

No one who sees this will show any doubt, because as soon as they enter, they will be assimilated by being too close to the great being and become His followers.

The aura of the abyss flowed down the sculpture like liquid, like cold, venomous snakes, eventually forming a dark skirt. A great being was squeezing into this world in this way.

……

Compared to the religiously charged army, the Imperial army is much more volatile. This is typical of armies, especially the Imperial army with its strong military atmosphere. Here, you can hardly see any behavior or sound unrelated to war.

Every soldier knew the severity of war; survival and victory were among the few thoughts in their minds.

"I've decided to launch the attack tomorrow."

Lord Clayton made his decision, and naturally no one objected.

"But before that, we need a mage to go first."

Earl Clayton looked at Ivar, whose second son had come to the south to win over the mages of the Mage Guild and become their leader.

Although the Mage Guild has only been established for a short time, many factions have already formed within it.

"Don't worry, Father, they've been prepared for a long time."

Ivar said confidently that when dawn broke the next day, hundreds of powerful mages ascended into the sky. One terrifying spell after another was condensed under their chanting. Thunder and fire, wind and rain appeared all at once in the sky above the Snowdrift Valley. Even the burning meteorites in the sky were falling.

"Damn mage!"

Within the army of believers, clergy angrily rebuked the magicians' actions, then unleashed divine magic to counter the destructive spells raining down from the sky.

Even the divine magic of the Dawn Church could only passively defend against the overwhelming magical bombardment; their divine magic was not the same as magic.

The magical bombardment by hundreds of mages threw the 100,000-strong First Legion in the north, out of the 300,000 believers, into chaos. Upon seeing this, Earl Clayton raised his knight's longsword.

"attack!"

The legendary dragon soared and roared in the sky, its breath far more powerful than any magician's spell. Flames scorched the earth, and amidst the rising smoke, the Fiery Dragon Knight Legion slaughtered the army of believers with unstoppable force.

To achieve his goal in one decisive battle, Earl Clayton must conquer Snow Valley today in order to seize the enormous profits and military achievements behind Snow Valley before the nobles.

Faced with the attack of such a superhuman legion of tens of thousands of knights and cavalry, the believers' army had limited ability to respond, and most of them did not even know where the enemy had suddenly appeared in front of them.

One hundred thousand men are not one hundred thousand wooden stakes. Their army stretches across the land, and when chaos ensues, no matter how good the military discipline Archbishop Maddie had previously established, it will be ineffective at that moment.

He didn't intend to interfere. Looking at the retreating and fleeing noble army, Archbishop Maddie's eyes were filled with murderous intent.

"For the glory of my Lord, kill these cowardly cowards!"

"Kill them!"

Bathed in holy light, 100,000 noble soldiers were mercilessly slaughtered by both sides in front of the Flame Dragon Knight Legion and the Papacy Army.

"He's crazy?"

Even Lord Clayton was utterly shocked. What on earth was Archbishop Maddie doing? Wasn't this man supposed to be diligent and never make a mistake?

How long would it take to slaughter 100,000 people? The answer is a whole day.

From the dawn to the dusk, 100,000 people became 100,000 corpses, but the war did not end there.

Archbishop Maddie floated in the sky, his snow-white holy light so dazzling that even the twilight could not dim his brilliance.

"This is the price of betraying my Lord! Believers of the Lord, give your lives for my Lord and kill those heretics of the Empire!"

It must be said that the fear brought about by killing 100,000 of their own people was terrifying. The remaining 200,000 believers were all afraid that they would become the chickens to be killed as a warning to others. So even though it was almost night, the soldiers mustered their courage and charged towards the imperial army.

Earl Clayton was surprised again, never expecting that Archbishop Maddie would be so ruthless, using the lives of 100,000 men to inspire the remaining 200,000 soldiers to fight without fear of death.

"He's a figure of importance, but did he consider how many more people would die if the fighting started at night?"

Archbishop Maddie still shone in the darkness, bathed in holy light, and the surrounding darkness enveloped him like a deep ocean.

“Death? For the glory of my Lord, their deaths are worthwhile. More killing and more deaths are needed to please my Lord.”

Inside the church, the black sculptures emitted hoarse, joyful sounds, enveloping the snow-white church of holy light. He had succeeded; a desperate sacrifice had brought the abyss's favor upon this world.

"Go, go, bring me more joy!"

The clergy kneeling inside the church opened their eyes in a frenzy.

Praise be to our Lord!

(End of this chapter)