Throne of the North.

Chapter 641 Coran's Tripartite Balance of Power

Archbishop Garcia, as the head of the Dawn Faith in the Kingdom of Coran, is actually not in the Kingdom of Coran most of the time.

This archbishop was a close associate of a cardinal on the Holy Mountain. To ensure his loyalty and status within the cardinal circle, Archbishop Garcia would offer a large share of tribute every year. Most importantly, he wanted to stand out from the circle and become the cardinal they jointly elected after the cardinal stepped down.

Garcia certainly had to try his best, and there was a key point: this cardinal was none other than Zechariah, who had been killed by the Pope in the Holy Mountain Cathedral.

This is great! The vacancy that was supposed to be decades away has suddenly been brought forward. No one is prepared, including Garcia. But he knows that if he doesn't fight for it, he might have to wait until he ascends to the eternal kingdom.

He did not want to stay in the Kingdom of Coran forever; only an archbishop who was willing to climb the ranks had the chance to wear the cardinal's robe.

So Garcia made arrangements at the Holy Mountain.

They already had a chance, but then the Kingdom of Coran was thrown into turmoil. The Dawn Faith and the kingdom's nobles became enemies, pushing Archbishop Garcia into a fire pit.

The archbishop was furious and, in a fit of rage, led a group of people back to the Kingdom of Coran.

On his land, absolutely nothing is allowed...

……

"There is no place for you on this land anymore."

As soon as Archbishop Garcia arrived in the Kingdom of Coran, countless figures appeared from all directions. Some wore cloaks and were completely hidden in the shadows, while others wore snow-white robes, but they all looked at him with hostility.

Furthermore, wasn't it said that the noble army and the Papacy were fighting? Then why is it so harmonious here?
Archbishop Garcia was bewildered. What had happened in the Kingdom of Coran during his absence? What had happened to the clergy and nobles there?

He didn't understand, but he did understand one thing: he was in danger.

"leave here!"

He gave the order, and at the same time, a snow-white holy light descended from the sky. As the archbishop, he wielded great power, and his divine magic was no less than that of the Holy Domain, and at times it could even unleash legendary power.

The divine blessings of the Dawn Church are always unreasonable. Under the holy light, all the clergy members' strength increased by several levels. Originally fewer in number, they completely overwhelmed the surrounding enemies in terms of aura.

"Your Excellency, you also need to show your sincerity."

Grand Duke Gaelan watched from afar, somewhat reluctantly, the army he had just acquired. This army, though only a month old, was unprecedentedly powerful, and he treasured it dearly.

“Baron Ryan is fully capable of helping you turn a thousand people into ten thousand.”

Kemon said that Grand Duke Gaelan finally agreed. The next moment, the horns sounded and the army launched a charge. On the other side, the power of magic brought Archbishop Garcia and others from the sky to the ground, facing the army's charge.

The Dawn Cult members also possess divine magic, but their magic is inferior to that of Archbishop Garcia. Due to the absolute difference in rank, their divine magic cannot be effective against the Archbishop.

But it doesn't matter, in this war, the most crucial group of people are only one group.

The sky darkened, a magic scroll was torn open, and suddenly a large number of dark clouds appeared in this world. Within the gathering dark clouds, a giant serpent comparable to a mountain peak appeared faintly. The moment they saw the serpent, all the clergy tensed up and did their best to resist as the serpent pressed down.

During this process, the Shadow Vanguards vanished without a trace. In an instant, their blades flashed with a cold light, and they appeared behind the clergy. The daggers possessed an inexplicable power, tearing through the clergy's magical barriers and devouring their life force.

"Damn it, how is that possible!"

Archbishop Garcia grabbed Signy's wrist, only to find that his hands were spreading an unnatural purplish-black color. How could the poison possibly have eroded the noble Dawn believer?
But that's exactly what happened. As the toxins rushed into his body, Archbishop Garcia's vision blurred, and in that moment of disorientation, a purple dagger pierced through his back and chest.

Signy's head emerged from behind, and at the same time, the Signy who had been grabbed by the arm by Archbishop Garcia vanished into thin air, leaving only his vertical pupils.

The battle lasted for at least ten minutes before Archbishop Garcia, returning to the Kingdom of Coran in a fit of rage, collapsed on the very land he considered his domain.

"The death of Archbishop Garcia has caused serious problems. The Holy Mountain will certainly not stand idly by and watch an archbishop die."

Grand Duke Gelan was still somewhat nervous, but at the same time, he also felt a kind of childish excitement and pleasure, as if he had done something naughty. The Kingdom of Kolan had been suppressed for too long under the rule of Dawn, and the sudden turn of events always felt like an unreal dream.

"It's alright. There are many archbishops in the Dawn Church, and many people on the Holy Mountain are probably overjoyed that Archbishop Garcia is dead. They might even help cover up the impact of the archbishop's death."

"Many people on the holy mountain will have one less competitor."

The Sven priests led the Dawn followers away, intending to preach throughout the Kingdom of Coran. Strangely enough, despite the chaos and the deaths of more than half of the nobles and clergy in Coran, the nobles were even more eager to swear allegiance to their faith.

It seems that this gives them a greater sense of security.

"They need faith; faith is already a part of the life of every person in the Kingdom of Kolan."

"If faith is lacking, the nobles will also fear the punishment brought by the Dawn, and the more they resist, the more they will rely on the faith of the Dawn Church."

This was a situation that most of the nobles of the Flor Empire had never experienced before. Ultimately, it was due to a lack of strength. The nobles of the empire had extraordinary legions, but the Kingdom of Coran couldn't even muster a decent army.

With everyone gone, news of Archbishop Garcia's death spread throughout the Kingdom of Coran, igniting the already chaotic situation. This time, both sides were driven by pure fear—fear that they too might be killed—so they resolved to strike first.

The war is escalating, and without absolute power to suppress it, the Kingdom of Kolan will be reduced to ruins in this turmoil.

The Empire and the Papacy are bound by the Treaty of the Kingdom of Nantes, so neither can intervene. This matter can only be handled by the Kingdom of Coran itself.

Many people look to the King of Kolan, for the greatest power in that land comes from that crown.

But the current king is as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. He invites nobles to the capital, but most of the nobles he invites are already dead. Their sons are the ones who inherit the titles and are deeply involved in a war of revenge. How could they have time to come to the capital?

Nobles did come, but the king's orders angered him, because His Majesty could not come up with a better solution.

His Majesty the King wanted to mediate, but the nobles hoped that the King would send troops to help. As time went on, the meeting ended in discord.

“My father died at the hands of those damned clergy. If I cannot avenge him, then I will not be worthy to inherit the family title and glory.” The hereditary succession of power is always harsh in chaotic times, and the heirs are tested along with the acquisition of power.

Moreover, the young successor yearns for glory and to establish an even greater honor than his father.

They need this war.

Fear and excitement coexisted among these nobles, rendering the king's various methods ineffective. He sought balance, and what the nobles needed to disrupt was the existing balance.

The king could not reach the same goals as the nobles, which led to the aging king gradually losing prestige in the eyes of these young nobles.

In this atmosphere, the revitalized Grand Duke Gaelan appeared, leading his army to forcefully suppress many wars. The defeated Dawn Church naturally had to pay a large amount of war reparations. Although not a single penny of these reparations went to the minor nobles who participated in the war, they developed a great admiration for Grand Duke Gaelan.

In a short period of time, the Grand Duke of Gelan's army was invincible. The students who returned from the frozen land territory possessed a fighting power far exceeding that of the noble armies of the Kingdom of Kolan.

During the war, Grand Duke Geylan gained immense prestige, and naturally, more nobles followed his cause.

"We must expel the Dawn Church! The Kingdom of Coran belongs to the nobles!"

With a single call to action, the nobles did not want most of their wealth to be taken by the Papacy, and they saw this possibility in the advantage of the war.

Naturally, when one side has an advantage, the other side has a disadvantage. The believers of the Dawn Church felt the pressure of failure. They were not only afraid of failure, but also terrified of death after failure.

"Those nobles have gone mad!"

One of the clergymen said fearfully that the clergy of the Kingdom of Kolan had hardly experienced any wars, so after the initial eagerness for war subsided, they began to fear its continuation.

Under pressure from the Grand Duke of Guelan, these clergy members began to band together. They were inherently in the same camp, and the believers felt no psychological burden in sticking together.

In this process, the Dawn Cult also began to expand and climb upwards, with higher-ranking clergy members joining the Dawn Cult.

“We don’t need mediocre people, we only need the elite. The Dawn Church represents hope, and our actions should also give hope to the Lord’s people.”

So, without a sound, the Dawn Priest Sven entered the royal palace of the Kingdom of Coran, hoping to see the elderly king.

"The war between the kingdom and the faith cannot continue, otherwise the Kingdom of Coran will absolutely not be able to withstand the wrath of the Holy Mountain."

"The Grand Referendum of Gelan cannot rely on the Flor Empire, because this is the Kingdom of Kolan, not Andara."

"The distance between them and the Empire is too great. The Emperor of Flor has never even considered making the Kingdom of Coran his ally. Their Emperor has not written to His Majesty to this day."

"Your Majesty must end this war, or the kingdom will be reduced to ruins."

The king agreed with Sven's words, but he didn't know how to achieve this.

"The king's power and majesty are bestowed by the great gods, and no one can take them away or surpass them."

"Perhaps you need a war to kill those nobles who crave war, as well as the clergy."

The king cannot come up with a solution alone, but with the cooperation of others, the king's power is still formidable.

Thus, the Dawn Priests and the King secretly colluded, turning the battlefield between the nobles and clergy into an unprecedented battlefield in the Kingdom of Coran, accommodating 100,000 people.

The war lasted for three days and three nights. The king appointed Grand Duke Gaelan as the supreme commander. The final result was that more than 600 clergy and a large number of nobles died on this battlefield.

Many people later recalled that they didn't even know how the men behind them died; they only felt the horror of those days, with the bloody wind blowing past their ears from time to time.

They survived by sheer luck, but no longer longed for war; instead, they longed for life.

Wars have winners and losers. During the war, Grand Duke Gelan gained the highest prestige in the Kingdom of Coran. This prestige should have belonged to the king, but Grand Duke Gelan was unwilling to share it with the king. He used this prestige to begin residing permanently in the royal city of Coran.

The Dawn Church suffered another defeat within the kingdom, losing significant power and its army.

The Kingdom of Coran stated that it would not strip churches of their right to collect religious taxes, but it did not want the churches to once again possess military power.

They followed the example of the Treaty of Nantes, agreeing to prohibit such a war from breaking out within the kingdom again.

They were certainly unwilling, but the fact that the sacred mountain, which should have been the support of all the people of Dawn, remained silent made them feel very insecure.

Sven's prestige was at its zenith because the Dawn Cult had never compromised its own interests during this process, making its growth inevitable. When the Dawn Cult had spread to every territory of the Kingdom of Kolan, many people realized that this Dawn Priest was now able to command the kingdom's believers.

When the news and a large amount of wealth arrived in the Frozen Territory, Ryan finally breathed a sigh of relief; the Kingdom of Coran was helpless.

At least for the short term.

“A rift will emerge between the Grand Duke of Gelan and the King. If the King dies prematurely during this period due to the Grand Duke’s depression, then this conflict will turn into hatred and continue to affect the successor.”

"As long as they are enemies, they will inevitably need the help of allies in order to... gain control of the Kingdom of Coran."

The fact that the Dawn Church does not have the power to command an army is a good thing for Ryan, just like the Kingdom of Sera, making it easier for him to control the Dawn Church members.

"Next, we will promote the prosperity of the Kingdom of Kolan's economy and the lives of its people, so that they will forget what the Kingdom of Kolan was like before and be grateful for the arrival of the new Kingdom of Kolan."

"And I am their dawn."

Ryan pondered how to make his name known throughout the Kingdom of Coran, ideally by associating it with a new era, a new atmosphere, and the hope of dawn.

(End of this chapter)