Throne of the North.

Chapter 607 The Battle to the Heavens (Part Six)

The Kingdom of Nantes is located in the heart of the southern lands, a geographical location that makes it well-connected and boasts the most extensive road system of all the kingdoms.

These roads were originally the greatest asset of the Kingdom of Nantes, bringing immense profits to the kingdom through trade from all directions. However, these roads now leave the nobles of the entire Kingdom of Nantes feeling anxious and helpless.

"Garfield Avenue lies just in front of Snowy Canyon. Following that road, the cavalry can reach the royal city in just one day, one day!"

Prince Duke of Nantes roared, his eyes filled with fury as he looked at the nobles around him.

"And your army? It will take your army a full half month to assemble at the foot of the capital."

"Where exactly is your army?"

"If the capital falls, you will all be traitors!"

"Immediately recall the royal army from Korla in the south! Their duty is to protect the king's safety."

The prince's words caused some nobles' expressions to change drastically, and they quickly said:

"No, Your Highness Prince Duke! If the army from Korla City leaves, those damned Red Rock slaves will rebel!"

"So what if they rebel? A bunch of old, weak, sick and disabled people, they'll never reach the capital of Nantes."

Prince Duke looked at the nobles and sneered.

"I think you guys are worried that those slaves will rebel and destroy your territory, even though you're quite close to them."

The nobles looked grim; they truly believed that they would be the first to suffer because of their own presence.

"I'll give you two choices: either I recall the troops from Korla, or I want to see your army outside the capital within three days. As nobles of the kingdom, you must stand with the kingdom through thick and thin and absolutely cannot let that damned imperial army invade!"

The nobles were bitter; was it because they were unwilling?

"Your Highness, the Empire's extraordinary legion is an army composed entirely of knights. Can our soldiers really withstand them?"

"We must stop them even if we can't. The century-old honor of the Kingdom of Nantes must not be tarnished because of the Empire."

The composition of the Kingdom of Nantes is very complex. The nobles here are all very old, but the kingdom itself is not.

Because the Kingdom of Nantes was founded a hundred years ago, and its northern border covered the world, nobles fled south in droves. These nobles who went south formed the Kingdom of Nantes after considering the need to stick together for survival. Of course, while the most noble bloodline became the king, it also left a great deal of power space for other nobles.

The king had very little control over the nobles.

Moreover, the current king is obsessed with women and has no interest in the nobles.

The threat from the empire eventually united the kingdom's nobles, and large armies gathered in their respective territories, converging on the royal city. At the same time, the Kingdom of Nantes continued to seek help from the Holy Mountain, which was also very close to it.

……

"Most of the army of the Kingdom of Nantes is concentrated in the city of Korla in the south, where there are more than 600 farms belonging to the Kingdom of Nantes and many nobles."

"Those six hundred-plus farms housed millions of slaves. Do you know where these slaves came from?"

The Elector's orders halted Lord Clayton's army, but the Earl's intelligence gathering on the enemy would not stop.

In recent days, news has been constantly coming back from the southern kingdoms and noble territories.

"An alien from another world."

Katz replied that he knew a little about the Kingdom of Nantes.

"To be precise, they are nobles from another world."

Lord Clayton corrected him, saying:
"Fifty years ago, a space mage emerged from a baronial family in the Kingdom of Nantes. He discovered a vulnerability in space, opened it, and found an alternate world."

"At first, the baron was overjoyed and wanted to profit from this passage, but he overestimated his own strength. The other world was not his plaything. That world also had civilization, and it was far more powerful than a baron."

"The Baron was unable to develop the other world on his own, so all the nobles of the Kingdom of Nantes found out. The entire kingdom was mobilized to develop it, and the other world experienced the apocalypse of the North. So, in just five years, the nobles of the other world announced their surrender."

"They surrendered to the Kingdom of Nantes, handing over a vast amount of wealth, but on one condition: they wanted to live on the continent of Norris, and the Kingdom of Nantes had to provide them with enough land to live on."

"That wealth was also used to buy land, as the northern environment of the other world made their lives miserable."

"The King of the Kingdom of Nantes naturally agreed. The nobles' contract was concluded, and the nobles from the other world trusted the Kingdom of Nantes."

"However, just as they were crossing the dimensional gate, the Kingdom of Nantes reneged on its promise and killed most of the first nobles to arrive on the continent of Norris. The remaining people of the other world were then enslaved."

"The Dawn Church also deserves credit for this. The cardinals of the Church judged everyone in that other world as heretics, and the gods they served were evil gods."

"The judgment of the Dawn Church can naturally invalidate the nobles' contracts."

"How much of the wealth handed over by those otherworldly nobles actually ended up in the hands of the Holy See?"

Lord Clayton sneered and continued:

"In my opinion, it's because some nobles in the Kingdom of Nantes felt that the distribution of benefits was unfair, so they informed the Papacy. If they couldn't get it, they made sure that other nobles in the Kingdom of Nantes couldn't get it either."

"And this person... is most likely that baron."

Lord Clayton tossed aside the intelligence he was holding and said:

"The kingdom's army is utterly vulnerable. It would be a miracle if they could hold out for even a day against the empire's massive army. I'm even more curious about the relationship between Archbishop Maddie and the Holy Mountain. Has it been exposed?"

The most important information is about the Papacy, and Archbishop Maddie, who has already served the evil god, is leading an army of 100,000 men on the western border of the Kingdom of Nantes, surrounded by the territories of the Kingdom of Nantes and several counts and nobles.

Has he not been exposed yet? Earl Clayton was incredibly curious. Could it be that even the clergy on the Holy Mountain couldn't detect his heresy?

That was an archbishop.

"He may not become our enemy, at least not for now."

The wait in the Snowdrift Canyon was tedious, but a day later, the Chosen One finally gave another order.

"The Dawn Church's extraordinary legions have been defeated?"

Earl Clayton stood up abruptly, looking at the latest battle report in his hand. On the other side of the main battlefield, Elector Freud led the Imperial army to a head-on defeat of the 800,000-strong army of believers of the Dawn Church.

The Oath of Faith, one of the ten extraordinary legions of the Dawn Church, was utterly annihilated. What brought shame upon the entire Church was that all its members became followers of the Abyss, their souls twisted before countless believers, turning them into indiscriminate monsters. A significant reason for the Dawn Church's defeat was that its followers witnessed their revered and devout followers become heretics. The immense sense of loss and disbelief deeply affected them, severely impacting their unwavering faith in the Lord of Dawn, thus diminishing the effectiveness of their priests' divine magic and drastically reducing their combat power.

After all, the army of believers without faith or the blessing of a pastor is no different from ordinary people.

In addition, the Sunfire Legion's direct defeat of the Templar Legion was a result that made Count Clayton's breath catch in his throat. He had personally fought against the Templar Legion, and both the Legion Commander, Kialdil, and the Templars were very powerful. Moreover, they were loyal not only to the Dawn but also to their Legion Commander, which meant that even without divine magic, they were an incomparably powerful extraordinary legion.

The Sunfire Legion actually defeated them? What does that even mean? Those fearless and steadfast Templar warriors were actually terrified by the Sunfire Legion?
"The Chosen One Freud is pursuing the army of the Dawn Church, but he will not keep chasing them. Instead, he will come to Snowy Canyon. He wants to take over the Kingdom of Nantes and the dozens of noble territories here. He wants to carve out some of Dawn's land from the Kingdom of Nantes, so that the tentacles of the Holy Mountain cannot reach the east, thus reducing the faith that the Dawn Church can control."

Katz was shocked, but also puzzled; his geographical knowledge was fairly good.

"We traveled south, defeating many noble territories, and arrived at the Snowfall Canyon. But it's impossible to divide the land of Dawn in two with this, isn't it? To the south of the Kingdom of Nantes is the Kingdom of Iron Eagle, and there are more than a dozen noble territories around the Kingdom of Iron Eagle."

Iron Eagle Kingdom, Nantes Kingdom, Snowy Canyon, and the eastern part of Carlos Kingdom—this is the line dividing east and west. The Empire occupied Carlos Kingdom and continued southward, conquering the noble territories within it. Snowy Canyon, more than 600 miles southeast of Carlos Kingdom, also belongs to the Empire. However, Nantes Kingdom, Iron Eagle Kingdom, and their surrounding noble territories occupy... two-thirds of this dividing line.

"The Iron Eagle Kingdom betrayed Dawn."

"what?"

Kaz gaped, finding it hard to believe. They hadn't even conquered the Kingdom of Nantes yet, and the Iron Eagle Kingdom further south had betrayed them first?

"Is it strange? If you remember two years ago, you should know that the end of the Dawn Road is the Iron Eagle Kingdom."

Earl Clayton sneered. Previously, many nobles from the southern lands had secretly discussed the possibilities beyond Dawn with His Majesty the Emperor of the Flor Empire. However, at that time, the Empire's army had not even entered the Kingdom of Carlos, so the nobles from the southern lands had to keep their thoughts to themselves and dare not reveal them.

The Papacy traveled the Path of Dawn, a path stained with blood, where hundreds of thousands were displaced, and the nobles along the Path of Dawn were almost all bankrupted just to survive.

Haha, the Papacy thinks they are still the same Papacy they used to be, and the nobles can only remain silent in the face of their authority.

In fact, the emergence of the empire had already given the nobles another option, and the Dawn Church's continued use of its old bloody methods would only backfire.

"As long as we can conquer the Kingdom of Nantes, the Haakon royal family of the Iron Eagle Kingdom will declare their betrayal of the Dawn and serve the Light."

"Will the electorate trust the Iron Eagle royal family?"

Katz was amazed. If the Iron Eagle Kingdom really did submit to the Empire, then the prestige of the Chosen One Freud would probably surpass Volvo's by a huge margin in an instant.

"of course."

Earl Clayton laughed.

"How did we prove to the world that the Empire had betrayed the Dawn Church?"

Kaz suddenly broke out in a cold sweat. How did the Empire do it? Of course, it proved itself by killing countless clergy and Dawn followers. Even those stubborn imperial nobles were targets for killing.

His Majesty Columbus I was very clear about the Empire's determination: if a severance was to be made, it had to be done thoroughly, leaving no way out for himself.

If the Iron Eagle Kingdom really does this, then... it will indeed have no choice but to cling to the Empire's coattails.

"Is the road to dawn really that tragic?"

The imperial army arrived three days later. The first to arrive was the Extraordinary Legion, followed by hundreds of thousands of troops who gradually arrived to set up checkpoints and lines of defense, ensuring that every piece of land, starting from the Kingdom of Carlos, was under the control of the imperial army.

This Elector's growth rate was frighteningly fast. Even Ryan, on the southern battlefield, had to admire what this Elector had done. He had turned almost one-tenth of the land of human civilization into a state of military control.

This made it impossible for the Empire's logistical support to be intercepted. In fact, the Dawn Church had done this many times before, but Freud showed the Church with the actual results that they were a hundred years behind.

"The Dawn Church is far less powerful than we imagine. It is corrupt, and the future belongs to the Empire."

Freud stood atop a massive chariot, a palace-like structure carried by thousands of wheels, slowly traversing the flat ground. The Chosen One's voice echoed throughout the Snowdrift Valley, his legendary power allowing his voice to easily penetrate more than ten miles away.

"The Empire will live forever, but the Papacy is about to fall!"

The Elector's roar instilled immense confidence in the Imperial army, which was indeed achieving great victories during this period.

"The entire continent of Norris will become the territory of the Empire! Flor will be great!"

The nobles did not respond to Freud's words, and some of the great nobles began to realize that the elector was gradually turning from humility to arrogance, that he had greater ambitions than his father, and that this ambition would bring about endless wars.

Elector Volvo should be thankful that he did nothing, yet Freud had already secretly lost the support of a portion of the nobility.

Not long ago, in the face of the terrifying fighting power of the Elemental Legion and the Sun Legion, Freud's prestige reached its peak and is still on the rise, because under his command the Empire achieved its most glorious war victory in a century.

In Freud's view, the other elector, Volvo, was no longer qualified to be his opponent. He carried immense military achievements from the battlefield and would rightfully become the next emperor of the Flor Empire.

The tacit approval of the nobles made him more confident, and he now began to hope that he could surpass his father.

Of course, the greatest contributor to everything in the war so far is Emperor Flor, Columbus III. Even he, as the elector and commander-in-chief of the war, gained so many military achievements under the orders of the emperor. The greatest military achievements, of course, belong to His Majesty the Emperor.

If he wants to surpass his father, he must do more.

Freud longed for this, and in order to improve himself, he could humbly learn from other nobles. However, once he began to master a certain skill, his 'teachers' became outdated.

"I have decided to launch an attack in three days and tell the King of Nantes that they can surrender within three days!"

Freud dispatched more than three hundred messengers to the Kingdom of Nantes. These letters were sent to all the nobles of Nantes, even barons, who would receive such a letter urging them to surrender.

"The empire will become immortal in three days."

"And the Papacy will be powerless to resist."

"This is the supreme glory that belongs to the Empire and to Columbus. Norris should have a new master. On the ruins of the Dawn Church, the flowers of paradise bloom."

Freud's extraordinary energy was surging wildly, and the legendary gift was feeling an uncontrollable surge of power. This chosen one was approaching the realm of demigods.

There weren't many nobles in the Snowdrift Canyon. They looked at each other in silence, none of them able to persuade the chosen one who was approaching demigodhood.

"What exactly did the Columbus royal family do back then, and why was a 30-year-old elector so powerful?"

Even Earl Clayton found it hard to believe. He was already powerful enough, with the title of Dragon Knight spreading throughout the entire continent of Norris. But the Chosen Ones of the Columbus Royal Family seemed to have no bottlenecks in their extraordinary cultivation. No, not only were they without bottlenecks, they had also been passively put on the fast track.

In any case, what Grand Duke Meyers said to his successor was correct: of the three electors, Freud was the most powerful.

(End of this chapter)