Throne of the North.

Chapter 673 The Determination to Purify
The world is focused on the Pope's return.

His appearance put pressure on countless people, the most so of whom was the Kingdom of Kolan.

The Kingdom of Coran had no empire to rely on and was fighting a war against the Dawn Cultists on its own. Those nobles had spoken ill of the Pope beforehand and used it against him in the war.

Mount Dawn did not disappoint the Kingdom of Kolan. Although the Empire blocked the road from the Holy Mountain to the eastern lands, the extraordinary world has too many extraordinary means.

The Holy Mountain has regained its leader, and soon a question arrived in the Kingdom of Kolan. It's never too late to settle scores.

The nobles of the Kingdom of Coran were filled with fear and trepidation. They had previously been excited about the clergy of the Holy See, but now they were filled with boundless fear of the power and prestige that the Dawn Church had held for thousands of years.

The nobles gathered in the royal city to discuss how to deal with the situation. They had originally come here because the king wanted to build a royal army, intending to play a roundabout game with the king.

Now it's much better, we don't have to go through that process again.

King Coran frowned as he looked at the noisy nobles in the council hall, his anger rising within him.

"What's all the fuss about? The Empire and the Papacy signed the Treaty of Nantes. No matter how angry the Holy Mountain is, it cannot send a large army into the Kingdom of Coran."

"They cannot cross the empire's borders; at most, they can only gather the followers of the Dawn from this land in the east to attack the Kingdom of Coran."

"As long as we build an army, and have a large army, Dawn Holy Mountain will not dare to easily invade our land."

"This is the Kingdom of Coran, my territory, and the Pope has no right to interfere."

His Majesty the King was unusually assertive, mainly because he had been busy having the nobles build the Kingdom's Legion. With immense power in his hands, the King had become more confident.

Seeing that the king had once again brought up this topic, the nobles began to panic.

"Your Majesty, that Baron Ryan, he's not a nobleman of the Kingdom of Coran at all. He's an imperial nobleman. Why should we accept his offer?"

“Our Kingdom of Kolan is fully capable of protecting its territory.”

The king looked at the other party with great displeasure.

"Viscount Burton, are you implying that your territory is capable of protecting your viscountry? Is it truly capable?"

The king's eyes flashed with a cold light, causing Viscount Burton to shrink back. His father was dead, and this new viscount was still too young to face the king.

Moreover, he sensed murderous intent in the king's eyes.

“I… Your Majesty, I simply feel that the baron of the North has ill intentions.”

"The Kingdom Legion is here to protect the Kingdom of Coran, to prevent the Kingdom of Coran from suffering the terrible demonic curse that occurred before, and even to protect the safety of the nobles, to prevent the nobles from dying mysteriously, and to keep all threats out."

"This has nothing to do with Baron Ryan of the North. The Legion of the Kingdom of Coran belongs to me. As my loyal followers, have you betrayed your king because of your father's death?"

The king questioned him angrily. Of course, he was anxious. For many years, this was the only opportunity to increase the king's power and prestige. He had to seize it and continue it, so that he would become the most glorious king in the Kingdom of Coran, surpassing all his ancestors.

“But we shouldn’t have any contact with the Baron of the North. It would make it impossible for us to explain to the Dawn Mountain that the Pope has returned and the Holy See is still the most powerful place in the world.”

"The friendship between the Kingdom of Coran and Baron Ryan stems from the threat from the North. As humans, many of you come from that land covered by the North, and your ancestors died in that world of ice and snow."

"The North is the enemy of all human civilization, and everyone has a responsibility to contribute to the fight against it."

"When the Dawn Church asked the Kingdom of Coran to send supplies to the north, you didn't stop them. Why are you refusing the threat from the north now?"

"These are not the noble qualities that a fine nobleman should possess. You are far inferior to your father."

Viscount Burton was nervous and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"This, this is not the same thing..."

He felt this was not the case, but he couldn't figure it out in the current situation, so he could only look to another nobleman sitting there for help.

Grand Duke Gaelan remained silent. He didn't want to get involved in this matter because, instinctively, he wanted to reject all of Ryan's proposals.

Ryan had ill intentions. In Grand Duke Gaelan's view, this preconceived notion would never disappear from his mind, because only he knew what means that Northern Baron was capable of using to achieve certain goals.

Many of the nobles here are new faces. Why? Because their fathers are all dead, killed by Ryan!

Grand Duke Gaelan could not reveal the truth; he was also a participant in the affair, and it was he who handed Ryan the knife that slaughtered the nobles.

For various reasons, Grand Duke Galan was unwilling but had no choice but to stand on Ryan's side, and Ryan manipulated everything about him like a demon from the abyss.

This was a very unpleasant feeling for a powerful duke who held immense authority over the kingdom.

Just as the king believed at that moment, none of this had anything to do with Ryan; the beneficiaries were always the kingdom's nobles.

How did that happen?

Grand Duke Guelan, somewhat annoyed, slapped the chair, silencing the nobles' commotion.

His gaze swept around, his expression one of struggle, as if he desperately wanted to tell everything to reunite the Kingdom of Kolan. This realization came after he had seized half of the Kingdom's political power.

"Aren't we discussing how to respond to the accusations from the Holy Mountain of Dawn?"

"The Holy Mountain questioned the Kingdom of Kolan about whether it had betrayed the Dawn and started a war with it."

He ultimately couldn't bring himself to say certain things.

"Has the Kingdom of Kolan betrayed the Dawn and sided with the Light?"

This was what the Dawn Holy Mountain cared about most. The nobles looked at each other, shaking their heads. It was ridiculous; they wouldn't dare admit their faith had mutated even if they were given a thousand lives.

"Then tell His Holiness the Pope that the faith of the Kingdom of Coran has always been the glory of the dawn, and has never changed."

“If…if the Holy Mountain wants to avenge those clergy and make the nobles of the Kingdom of Coran pay the price…we will not surrender without a fight.”

"The Kingdom Legion can be established to garrison the south and west, as these are the only two places where the Church's army of believers will threaten the Kingdom of Coran."

"Keeping threats out of the kingdom's territory...that's a good thing."

Grand Duke Guérin ultimately accepted the king's proposal, and he also benefited from this decision.

"We can no longer fight like a scattered pile of sand. The Kingdom of Kolan must unite in order to fight against all external threats."

"The power over this land belongs to the esteemed King of Coran."

At dawn the next day, the church bells rang out, and the King of Corinth sincerely responded to the holy mountain.

"The Kingdom of Coran will forever serve the great Lord of Dawn. From the first king of the ancient kingdom, they have been devout believers of Dawn. The Lord's eternal kingdom will always reserve a piece of land for the believers of the Kingdom of Coran to uphold their faith." The king avoided questioning the nobles about the killing of clergy on the Holy Mountain. No one really knew how to respond, as the fact that those people were killed was undeniable evidence.

The Holy Mountain was naturally furious and completely dissatisfied with the Kingdom of Coran's response.

"The Kingdom of Kolan is downplaying the main issue. They have already betrayed the Dawn and brazenly killed my lord's servant. What exactly do they want?"

"The nobles of the kingdom are no longer children of the dawn; they must accept divine punishment. The glory of my lord must not be profaned!"

"The Lord's flame is the ultimate destiny of the Kingdom of Coran."

The commotion on the holy mountain was bound to be a severe punishment for the Kingdom of Coran. The Pope sat high on the clouds, watching the believers' argument.

Not long after, the order from the Holy Mountain arrived at the Cathedral of Corinth. The kingdom had a large number of Dawn believers, and this place still belonged to Dawn.

However, the administrators of Dawn here are all members of the Dawn Cult.

“Cleric Sven, the Holy Mountain has sent an order for us to punish the nobles of the Kingdom of Coran.”

A bishop delivered the letter from the Holy Mountain to Sven.

"Bishop Zere, do you think the deaths of those clergy members were a good thing or a bad thing?"

Sven said calmly, pausing his prayer and asking gently.

The bishop fell silent, unsure how to respond.

“No nobleman of the Kingdom of Coran is qualified to kill his master’s servant.”

"Then who is qualified?"

Will the Lord care about the disputes among us servants?

"He doesn't care; He hangs high in the eternal depths of heaven, indifferent to the opinions of the world."

"Yes, the Lord does not care how his believers die."

“But Bishop Zere, you must understand that the Lord cares about one thing: whether His faith is sufficient.”

“We are all servants of the Lord, passing on our faith to Him so that He knows that His people are always there.”

"But... some clergy members cause faith to disappear."

“Those clergy, they have long since fallen, death is their best end, otherwise the fire of my Lord will also burn their souls.”

The Cathedral of Coran, now managed by the Sven priest of the Coran Kingdom branch of the Church of Dawn, responded to the Holy Mountain of Dawn.

There were so many responses that even the Holy Mountain didn't want to read any further.

Because each of the above describes the sins of a clergyman, from plundering and robbing to keeping female slaves, to squandering the wealth belonging to the Lord of Dawn, and deceiving those who believe in the Lord of Dawn. They no longer even pray, and no faith can be seen in them. They are no longer believers in the Lord, but vultures that devour the faith of the Lord of Dawn.

The above points were so offensive that the clergy on the holy mountain blushed with shame. They never imagined that the clergy of the Kingdom of Kolan could be so corrupt and degenerate!

"unacceptable."

The clergy condemned the attack, and finally, His Holiness the Pope spoke up.

"Within the Vatican, many of the Lord's servants have fallen and are no longer qualified to be believers of the Dawn."

The Pope, in his own name, issued a commendation to the Sven clergy of the Kingdom of Coran and stated that Sven's name would be nominated for the roster of bishops. He also requested that the Dawn Cult members of the Kingdom of Coran reflect on themselves once again and purify the souls of all fallen clergy.

At the same time, the Pope also stated on the Holy Mountain that he had finally realized the Lord's grace. He publicly announced that he would purify the Dawn Church again, purifying it back to the original form of the Dawn Church, holy and pure, without any defilement.

"Only by coming into contact with evil can one understand how precious faith in the Lord is."

The Pope prayed devoutly in the High Cathedral for a day and a night. As everyone was filled with trepidation, a dazzling divine light descended from the sky, covering the entire holy mountain and bathing the snow-white mountain in the glory of the Lord of Dawn.

Countless believers were in a frenzy of celebration, and high above in the radiant light, they saw their Pope.

"I will clear away the gloom and purify the evil."

With this miracle as a starting point, no one could stop the Pope from thoroughly investigating the inner workings of the Dawn Church. On that very day, three archbishops were found, their sins beyond description. As the flames of the Dawn burned their souls, fear finally gripped the Holy Mountain.

Upon his return, the Pope's first act was to purge the Dawn Papacy...

This incident caused a great uproar, and the emperor of the empire watched his opponent with great interest.

"The corruption and decadence of the Dawn Church has lasted for thousands of years. Do you think it's possible that Solarion could die at the hands of those Dawn believers?"

The Pope's desire to cleanse the internal sins is not a fault, and many young believers even follow him fanatically. However, these believers are useless, as the Pope's actions will affect the interests of more than 90% of those in power in the Dawn Papacy today.

Nine out of ten... that might even be a conservative estimate.

"He can succeed even if he has a small number of supporters."

"However, I doubt anyone in the Dawn Church would support Pope Dawn's attempt to purify the internal corruption."

Whether it's self-interest or faith, there might have been debate a century ago, but today, those clergy who wield wealth and power are no longer the same.

Even the Pope himself, doesn't he harbor all sorts of messy evil?

When Ryan of the Frozen Territory learned of the news from the south, he couldn't help but shake his head. He didn't think the Pope would die because he knew that the Pope now possessed terrifying power, the strength of a demigod, and no one knew what methods he had.

He also didn't believe the Pope could successfully purify the Dawn Papacy.

It is impossible for that vast Papacy to restore itself to a holy religious organization through internal cleansing.

Only external forces can sanctify a decaying soul.

"I wonder how many people within the Dawn Church are hoping that their Pope can restore a clean Dawn Religion to them."

Ryan said this, wondering if the Dawn Cult could absorb those devout believers on the day they truly lost hope.

“My civilized priest, your responsibility is truly great.”

Ryan is going to add a few more tasks for his bard.

(End of this chapter)