Throne of the North.

Chapter 637 Dawn and Darkness (Part 9)
Father Piqué led a large number of believers into the royal palace of the Kingdom of Coran.

On the same day and at the same time, the king and nobles were once again engaged in a heated discussion about the future of the Kingdom of Kolan.

"We need to learn from the Empire and concentrate our troops and resources at key border fortresses to prevent enemy attacks!"

This was the king's demand; ultimately, it was about centralizing power, because the king had to make all the decisions in this process.

"An extraordinary army is the foundation upon which we stand. If we cannot become powerful enough to deal with the extraordinary legions of the Flor Empire, then even a count's army of the empire can destroy the Kingdom of Coran."

This was the ideal of the Grand Duke of Gellén, who strongly urged the kingdom's nobles to join the movement for change.

The king and the grand duke are similar in some ways, but their interests differ; they both want to be the ones in charge of this change.

"The Kingdom of Kolan will not fear any invasion, and we will be safe and sound."

This was the last batch, or rather, the majority of them, because of the inertia of ruling their territories, because of the idea of ​​becoming nobles through hereditary power, and because they feared the unknown changes.

Moreover, interests will not favor the majority of nobles.

"We have no choice."

"The wealth of the Kingdom of Coran is all in the hands of those church priests, what can we do?"

"The kingdom wants change, but we don't have the money."

Whether intentional or unintentional, after the last time the blame was directed at the Vatican, everyone now tacitly points the finger at the Dawn Vatican.

Only in this way can something be stirred up, and only then can one get away with it.

Those who want change use the Vatican to incite conflict, just waiting for someone to get carried away.

The nobles who managed to slip through the cracks had an even easier time; they didn't believe anyone else would dare to oppose the Dawn Church, because no one except the Empire could defy the Dawn.

In short, everyone tacitly understood each other's motives.

"Get out of the way, all of you get out of the way, you damned traitors of Dawn!"

Angry shouts and curses came from outside. The nobles looked towards the entrance of the meeting hall and couldn't help but frown in anger.

"Who goes there? This is the king's palace."

As soon as he finished speaking, the people outside opened the palace gates, and Father Piqué stormed in angrily, only to find the palace filled with a dense crowd of richly dressed nobles.

Thanks to everything the Empire has done, it has become a new tradition for the clergy of the Dawn Church to respect the nobles, who are also rulers.

Father Piqué was also shocked; there were so many nobles inside, and he had no idea why.

"Father Piqué, we must make the nobles pay the price!"

"Betray the dawn, or face judgment, or atone for your sins!"

"Even if war doesn't ravage the Kingdom of Kolan, we have a hundred ways to make the nobles suffer divine punishment!"

"The glory of the Lord must not be profaned!"

"The nobles must be held accountable for certain things."

"Damn it, my dog ​​is having a difficult birth! The king must take full responsibility!"

"..."

The crowd behind Father Piqué was in an uproar, each person with their own reasons, which made Father Piqué feel uneasy.

He turned around, trying to stop the clergy from escalating the situation. After all, there were too many nobles here, and they would surely unite if things went as planned. He wasn't Archbishop Garcia, and he wasn't qualified to truly oppose the king.

But Father Piqué, who was just about to turn around, was pushed forward by a force before he could fully turn around, and then more clergy poured in.

Silence, a deathly silence. Some nobles even drew the daggers hidden on their bodies, watching the doorway nervously.

The clergy also widened their eyes in surprise. How could there be so many nobles? Weren't they supposed to be discussing secrets only with the king and the grand duke?

No, that's not right. How did they rush all the way to the king's palace? They shouldn't have done that. They should have slowed down, they should have...

Their heads were spinning; neither nobles nor clergymen knew what to think about at that moment.

Beside Father Piqué, the Sven priest whispered:

“Father, things have changed. You mustn’t show weakness now. As long as you don’t show weakness, we can come again next time.”

Yes, as long as I don't show weakness, I can stand firm in front of the nobles.

At worst, we can come and cause trouble for the nobles again when they're not around.

Thinking of this, Father Piqué suddenly seemed possessed by a deity, his expression becoming sacred, and he said:

"Your Majesty Coran, I would like to ask you whether you intend to betray Dawn."

Father Piqué, who could not afford to show weakness, was also King Coran. After all, these clergymen had barged into his palace without invitation, and if this matter was not handled properly, the king's authority would be completely undermined.

Therefore, King Coran must become even more powerful.

"What do you mean? Father Pik? I remember you are the lector of the Coran Cathedral, right? Why are you barging into my palace and accusing me without any reason?"

“You must understand that you are a priest, not a pope. Even if the pope himself came to the Kingdom of Coran, he would have to tell me three months in advance, and then I would have to invite him before he could come to my palace.”

The king was furious, and the more he spoke, the angrier he became. Yes, this was his palace! What audacity did these clergymen have to break into it? Were they planning a rebellion?!

“Father, you must not show weakness.”

The sergeant whispered from the side.

"Everyone behind you is watching. Whether you can become a bishop depends on whether you can walk away unscathed from the king's presence."

Sven's words convinced Father Piqué not only of becoming a bishop, but also of his promise to retire unscathed.

Father Piqué would have to exert every ounce of his strength to make a hasty retreat before the King; it was absolutely impossible.

The sudden adulation and recognition from the clergy made it absolutely impossible for Father Piqué to back down.

“Your Majesty, I will give you an explanation for this, because I have received news that some nobles in the Kingdom of Coran have betrayed the Great Lord of Dawn. They want to use their army to attack the church and move the grain inside, which would make even rats weep, to their own territory.”

“They even steal the only things they have to offer to my Lord.”

"This is undoubtedly a betrayal of faith, and the Dawn Church will never accept the betrayal of the nobles of the Kingdom of Coran." "That is why I am here. I do not represent myself, but the great Lord, the great Lord of Dawn, whose glory is bestowed upon all things in the world, illuminating the dark future."

When it comes to waving a big flag, who can outdo the clergy?
But upon hearing his accusations, not only did the emperor feel ashamed, but the other nobles also became indignant.

Even mice would cry if they saw this? You're being a bit too eloquent.

How much stuff is hidden in the warehouses of the Dawn Church in the Kingdom of Kolan, in the small warehouses of the clergy? Even the clergy themselves don't know, so who does?
Of course, it's the nobles.

The wealth and resources they painstakingly exploited and accumulated flowed into the Church of Dawn every year and every month. Only these nobles knew better than anyone how much of the kingdom's wealth those unproductive clergy had consumed.

Now, let's talk about something that would make even mice weep. But are those really tears? They're the tears of excitement from three generations of a wealthy mouse family!

Do you think we're fools, or are you the fool?
The nobles' expressions turned grim as they looked at Father Piqué, and with things having come to this point, there wasn't much more to say between them.

The king couldn't expose Father Piqué's lies, because openly, every Church of Dawn was claiming poverty, demanding more from the nobles every year about their financial deficit. Exposing them would lead to a complete falling out.

Every year, every church and every noble lord engages in feigning poverty.

The king was not prepared to break ties with the Dawn Church; in fact, it could be said that he never even considered expelling the Dawn. This was the biggest point of contention between him and Grand Duke Gelan, and also the reason why the two factions could not communicate.

Father Piqué, on the other hand, felt quite pleased with himself. The king had nothing to say, and he had the upper hand. So he couldn't help but look at the refined priest next to him, wanting him to tell him whether the clergy behind him were looking at him with worship.

He cannot turn back; the representative of the great Lord of Dawn must be so glorious and majestic.

Glancing at the refined priest, who was looking in the direction of the nobles, it seemed to be the location of the Grand Duke. Indeed, in this kingdom, besides the king, the Grand Duke also wielded considerable power.

But what should they do next? Father Piqué was also at a loss. If he could, he would wish he had never barged in at all; who knew there were so many nobles here?

Now both sides are in a dilemma. The nobles' eyes gradually turned cold and filled with murderous intent, while the clergy were smug and tried to further force the nobles to compromise.

At this moment, Kemon gently tugged at the sleeve of the Grand Duke of Gaelan.

After a moment's thought, Grand Duke Gelan glanced at the King, feeling a pang of reluctance, but his gaze quickly hardened; he was right.

“Father Pik, right? I believe there’s a misunderstanding here. The kingdom’s faith in Dawn will not change, but no matter what, you, as a priest, have no right to question the King of Coran.”

“My esteemed Majesty, only the Pope can question his faith. Even if the Pope is not present, only Archbishop Garcia has the right to question him discreetly, not someone like you who is standing here shouting.”

"This misunderstanding requires Archbishop Garcia to come and clarify it."

"Father Piqué, please go back first. Let Archbishop Garcia come."

Father Piqué was somewhat displeased.

“Even if Archbishop Garcia were here, he would ask the same question as me.”

After Father Piqué finished speaking, he turned and left, feigning anger. His steps were quick, but he soon slowed down; he couldn't show weakness.

In any case, the king will not save face tonight.

"Your Excellency, are you really sure? As a high-ranking noble, you must accept the bloodshed that comes with change."

Kmon said to Grand Duke Gaelan:

"Do you know what Gerald's noble territory has become like today?"

"I don't need the Empire's army. I'm confident I can lead Gerald's army all the way to this royal city."

"This was impossible before; we paid the price with blood and fire. Now we are Gerald, reborn, and we fight to return to our ancestral lands in the North."

"Until death do us part."

Grand Duke Gaelan's eyes were resolute, requiring no further explanation from Kemon.

“My heart has never been so firm. There is only one thing you said that I agree with: the world today is different from the world of the past. We are all leaders of a new era, just like the Empire.”

"We are at the forefront of the world, and only in this way can we maintain our dominance over the world."

His ambition was far greater and more resolute than that of Clement and Ryan, and having experienced so much, the Grand Duke seemed even more determined to make certain choices.

"Then His Excellency the Grand Duke will receive the answer tomorrow."

"Although the previous meeting did not yield any results, we have already seen the answer: which nobles will not stand on your side."

"They will become the 'price'."

The clergy seemed to have gained everything, yet also seemed to have gained nothing. In short, some were arrogant, while others were bewildered and at a loss.

After their revelry at the Cathedral of Corinth, they went their separate ways.

But this road is destined to be very long, and some people may never finish it.

Instead of implementing a scorched-earth policy tonight, the Shadow Vanguard began assassinating clergy members. The Kingdom of Coran had not experienced the Flor Empire, nor even the Black Swan assassination upheaval in the Kingdom of Andara, so they were completely unprepared and had no thought whatsoever about such a thing.

They never even imagined that there would be a group of assassins lurking in the shadows, an organization devoid of any honor or creed, dedicated solely to killing them.

The clergy were oblivious, and the nobles even less so. The Kingdom of Coran was too far from Mount Dawn and the Flor Empire; to the rulers, it was like paradise.

Tonight, they are nearing hell.

"This world has never been beautiful; it is full of cruelty."

Wolf-skin Ulf stood before the corpse of a nobleman, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth. He had once been just an ordinary snow wolf, but now, not only was he powerful, but after transforming into a ferocious beast in his fur, he had surpassed many magical beasts.

"I really envy you guys who have never lived in a post-apocalyptic world. Today I've shown you how the children of the apocalypse survive."

"Kill the enemy, survive, and then keep killing the enemy—that's the real world."

Ouch——

The howl of wolves shattered the clouds; tonight, many in this royal city are destined to die.

By tomorrow morning, everyone will be engulfed in a bloody massacre.

In fact, by the time dawn broke the next day, the situation was even more serious.

The conflicts within the Kingdom of Kolan have existed for a very, very long time.

(End of this chapter)