Throne of the North.

Chapter 632 Dawn and Darkness (Part 4)
The Kingdom of Sera.

The Kingdom of Sera is now in a somewhat awkward position.

First, they still believe in the Dawn, but the Dawn Church now has no control over the Kingdom of Sera.

Secondly, the Kingdom of Sera is closer to the Empire in terms of power, after all, this land is right next to the Empire.

The Kingdom of Sera doesn't have a direct view of the world's situation. They hope that the Dawn Church and the Empire will turn a blind eye to them. Therefore, even though this king is the only legend among all the kingdoms, King McCrenos is exceptionally low-key and has hardly ever left his tower.

Even matters within the Kingdom of Sera were left to the two princes to handle under the pretext of meditation, with the king using meditation as an excuse.

As for matters of faith, the Sera royal family is in a state of indifference and neglect; they have no right to interfere in the internal affairs of the Dawn Faith.

“We will be able to enter the land of the Kingdom of Sera once we cross the Cagliari River.”

“This river is younger than you. King McCrenos of the Kingdom of Sera invited a legendary magician to create this river on this grain plain that connects the Kingdom of Andara and the Kingdom of Sera, to divide the land between the two kingdoms.”

"However, because of the former territory of the McCrenoz family, more than 80% of this grain-producing land belongs to the Kingdom of Sierra."

"The Kingdom of Sera today still needs to import food from within the empire to sustain the lives of its nobles."

"However, in the past two years, Lord Ryan has been establishing experimental grain fields north of the royal city of the Andara Kingdom, around the military castle defense line. With the orcs no longer harassing us, we are confident that we can grow some grain this year."

Along the way, Sven and Millie talked about the landscape and changes in this land.

"Sister Yelena is amazing."

Millie nodded seriously and said that all the wheat seeds in the Frozen Territory had been improved by the magician Yelena, and could grow into crops even in many barren lands.

"Lord Ryan doesn't seem very satisfied with Mage Yelena's results."

Sven asked, explaining that he hadn't lived in the tundra for a long time and was unfamiliar with the environment there.

"Yes, Lord Ryan made Sister Yelena his assistant to Archmage McKen, hoping she could become the deputy of the Institute of Life Sciences. Lord Ryan said he never thought those barren lands were truly barren."

He said that those lands had never been cultivated for thousands of years, and their fertility had not been depleted by growing food. The barren land was mistakenly thought to be unable to grow food because of its hidden vitality.

“Mage Yelena should bring those lands back to life in this era.”

"Then Lord Ryan distributed a lot of money, which was said to be used to cultivate the land in the north of the Andara Kingdom."

“I heard from the Baroness that this money will also be used in the Kingdom of Sera. Compared to the difficulties in the Kingdom of Andara, it will be much easier to cultivate more farmland in the Kingdom of Sera.”

“During Lord Ryan’s absence, there were many letters from the Kingdom of Sera, but I don’t know their contents. The Baroness said that those nobles wanted to obtain something from Lord Ryan in the Kingdom of Sera.”

Sven understood, looking at the river that was so close at hand. The Cagliari River was not turbulent, and its current was gentle in both spring and autumn. Its source was the Griffin Mountains, and it was said that the river was planned based on the Griffin breeding camps inside the Griffin Mountains.

Just as the Holy Knights couldn't hide their identities when they appeared in the Kingdom of Andara, Sven and Millie couldn't hide for long when they entered the Kingdom of Sera.

However, he wasn't worried because he entered the Kingdom of Sera using the identity from the Frozen Territory.

"I am a bard, and I am also a missionary."

“I am a bard, but I am a missionary. This is the story of my life.”

"That's how we bards are. We travel to every corner of the world to capture stories that can be spread and tell the stories to more people. Of course, it's rare for the bards themselves to be the protagonists."

"I should be the first."

Sven received a warm welcome from a baron. He was not a commoner. Being a bard was one thing, but considering Baron Ryan's title, he was at most ignored. However, being a missionary was a status no less than that of an imperial lord. If he had more power and was qualified to become a priest, this status would be no less than that of a baron.

Dawn Priest Sven, his status is more than enough, but he's not on the lists of either Dawn or the Light.

When asked about his purpose for coming, Sven answered quite frankly.

"I did it for missionary work."

"Beyond the darkness we see the dawn, the hope of a new day. Would you, Baron, be willing to become a follower of the dawn?"

The baron kept shaking his head. He had never heard of any Dawn Cult and worried that his faith was not the kind of faith the Dawn Church needed, and that he would be branded a heretic.

Outside the empire, faith is still treated with great care.

In particular, I recently heard that many clergy members within the Dawn Church had become corrupted in their beliefs and had become followers of the Abyss God.

Thinking of this, the Baron's gaze toward Sven became wary, and Sven, being sensible, took his leave.

"We came to the Kingdom of Sera for the sake of the Dawn Believers."

"I believe that no matter how corrupt and decadent the Dawn Church may be, there are still steadfast believers within it, and these are the people we can win over."

"Just like those Holy Knights."

At this point, Sven felt a bit of a headache. He wished that Lord Signi hadn't been so ruthless as to kill everyone, which was why he didn't have a single guide in the Kingdom of Sera.

Of course, even without a guide, Sven had a goal. He had been to the Kingdom of Sera before and knew where he could find his kind.

Unicorn Fortress.

This legendary city, built by giants, is even taller than the imperial capital of the empire.

This place has the largest number of Dawn Believers in the Kingdom of Sera.

Upon entering Unicorn Fortress, Sven immediately sensed a strong atmosphere of faith. Although the faith leaders of the Kingdom of Sera had suffered devastating blows time and time again, daily prayer had become an integral part of the lives of the lower-level believers.

Not all believers are non-productive, but all the workers here share the same faith.

The church of the Lord of Dawn was not destroyed here; on the contrary, it became even more magnificent because the priest was no longer there.

The believers spent all their money on building the church, but what left them feeling empty was that the church had no one in charge. They couldn't confide their devout faith to the priest, and they worried that without clergy, the great Lord wouldn't feel their loyalty.

Yes, the believers here are eager for the Dawn Church to send a priest to the church.

Sven led Millie directly into the chapel of the Unicorn Fortress. Without the person in charge, it was much more magnificent, but problems also existed. For example, many people changed things according to their own ideas, making many parts of the chapel look out of place.

Even the trees were crooked and twisted.

Sven entered the church and saw the scattered worshippers praying, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he silently led Millie to arrange the tables and chairs inside the church. Most of these items were not up to standard, so Sven simply drew the longsword that Millie was carrying and turned all the benches and tables into one piece of length and width.

The commotion was quite loud and was naturally heard by the praying believers. They all turned around, but when they saw the noble priest's robes on Sven, they all fell silent, feeling that they had no right to rebuke him.

After a long while, as more and more tables and chairs became neatly arranged, the believers felt that things seemed more pleasing to the eye. One of them stepped forward and asked reverently:
"May I ask who you are?"

"Me? I am a priest."

Sven's gentle and kind smile was infectious to the believers. He then went to the front, where there was a reading table with a copy of the Dawn Doctrine on it. Sven opened it and looked at it, then looked up at the believers.

The worshippers had already raised their heads and stopped praying, looking at the obviously extraordinary Dawn Priest.

"It's very luxurious here, but it's clear that its luxury only exists on the outside, while its interior is as dilapidated as those chairs."

"The reason for all this is that the believers here lack the Lord's guidance, and you have lost the right direction."

"And now, your guide has appeared."

……

Within a day, Sven gained a large following of believers, and as his followers grew, many people began to see Sven's image in their minds.

"It was him, a distinguished missionary. I saw him leading an army, sitting with many bishops!"

The believers are not dead; each of them has their own soul, and many remember the status that the Sven missionaries once held in this Unicorn Fortress.

This has led many believers to show greater acceptance of the civilized priests.

It wasn't just these believers who remembered civility.

In Unicorn Fortress, clergy are indispensable.

They were incredibly lucky to survive so many wars and purges.

“Binder, that missionary is back, and it seems he’s going to become our leader.”

A group of people gathered together, including believers, knights, and priests, each with their own scheming minds.

“We don’t have any missionaries among us, damn it, this will give him a free ride.”

The Vatican has many internal systems, but there is only one main road: believers—missionaries (priests)—priests—bishops—archbishops—cardinal archbishops—pope. This is a simple road, but each level has its own chasms.

Being a believer is the foundation, but not everyone can become a missionary. Priests among missionaries are the trainees for priests. Of course, more than 90% of missionaries remain missionaries for their entire lives.

Further up, although a priest may only be able to stay in a small church, he is actually already in the middle ranks within the Vatican.

If it's a bishop or archbishop, then that's a truly high-ranking position. On the southern battlefield, the highest commanders of the religious army were all archbishops.

Besides, the church in the baronial estate has priests, and all the churches, big and small, on the holy mountain also have priests.

This level can be said to be the backbone of the Dawn believers, an indispensable trunk of a tree.

"We can't compete with him."

"We don't need competition."

A pastor gritted his teeth and said:
“That refined man, he’s not a member of our Dawn Church at all. Have you forgotten how long we searched for him but couldn’t find his name?”

"This……"

The others exchanged glances. Even the Pope himself struggled with the papacy's internal roster, so they had no doubt about the missionary's identity; he was undoubtedly a devout believer.

“He’s definitely not. Don’t get me wrong. If the Sven missionary becomes the priest of Unicorn Fortress, then everything we have now is unreasonable. He will have the power to take everything away from us.”

In name only, the Dawn Church, including the Pope, is not allowed to possess any wealth whatsoever, including bloodline wealth such as offspring.

We have to kill him.

The priest who spoke was ruthless, but when it came to killing, these clergy of the Dawn Church were far less capable than the nobles. Upon hearing the suggestion, almost everyone hesitated.

The priest turned his gaze to the knights; if they were to make a move, he would definitely need to rely on them.

“He must be killed. We do not need to accept any orders from priests or bishops who are not personally ordered by the Holy Mountain.”

"Only in this way can we safeguard our interests."

"He must be killed."

“If you disagree, I will take action. If I succeed, you will then elect me as the acting pastor.”

“Alright, Pastor Thomas, if you can kill him, then we will agree to let you become the acting pastor.”

Pastor Thomas left with an ambitious look in his eyes.

He knew why these people hesitated; it was precisely this kind of character that had allowed them to survive until now. The Kingdom of Sera, a place widely regarded as an ominous place, was something they were unwilling to even venture outside the Unicorn Fortress.

"Pastor Soto was originally a substitute pastor."

Pastor Thomas's eyes were filled with hope. If he could emulate Pastor Soto of the Kingdom of Andara, he could become Pastor Thomas of the Kingdom of Sera, and even the archbishop sent by the Holy Mountain would have to listen to him.

He was originally a priest of the Kingdom of Andara, but was later sold off by that damned Baron of the North and brought to the Kingdom of Sera.

The priest also has his own group of followers. After all, there are many believers in Unicorn Fortress who are eager to follow the clergy. Without the priest, knights and priests are seen by them as mediums that can bring them closer to the Lord of Dawn and allow their prayers to be conveyed to the Kingdom of the Great Lord.

They did not do so because of their own charm, but because of the benefits brought by their faith in the gods.

The pastor gathered a group of people, and this small pastor actually had hundreds of loyal followers.

“That refined priest was exposed back when the bishops were still alive. He stole the power of the Dawn Church. We must kill him. If we succeed, the Lord will grant us blessings.”

"Perhaps a miracle will occur."

The pastor spoke loudly, and it was evening. Many people were looking at him with burning eyes, and they believed in Pastor Thomas even more.

“Pastor Thomas, if we kill him, will Mount Holy Mountain send a priest?”

"Not necessarily, but killing him will surely give us new readers of the scriptures on the Holy Mountain, and then everyone's prayers will enter the eternal kingdom."

The crowd became excited, and Thomas watched the scene with satisfaction. Then, the next moment, he felt a cold, sharp object pierce his back.

(End of this chapter)