Throne of the North.

Chapter 674 One Month Until the Festival of Divine Grace
The day before, the Holy Mountain of the Dawn Church was still clamoring for punishment of the Kingdom of Coran.

The following day, large numbers of dead people began to appear on Mount Dawn. One by one, high-ranking clergymen fell from their horses, their bodies were burned to ashes, their souls wailed and screamed in the holy light, their power was stripped away, and they were sent to the battlefield of the abyss for eternal atonement.

The whole world was shocked by this move by the Vatican. Was the Pope serious?
Many people believe that the Pope comprehended the will of the Lord of Dawn through atonement, and that his determination to purify the corrupt Dawn Church was too firm.

Only Ryan didn't believe the Pope was really like that; otherwise, he would have killed himself first.

"Is he planning to... use bloodshed to unify the will within the Holy See?"

Through the fall of these clergy, Ryan figured out Pope Solarion's purpose.

The Dawn Church, this religious organization, is very fragmented.

In Ryan's view, even in a noble-ruled country like the Flor Empire, the emperor's power was not absolute.

The four grand dukes and nobles shared far too much power within the empire.

The Dawn Church is even worse than the Flor Empire.

Because they are a purely religious organization, their source of everything is not the authority of the ruler, but their devout faith in the Lord.

Within the Papacy, the title of Pope is paramount, as he is seen as the embodiment of God on earth.

This has nothing to do with power. The power brought by divine authority is absolutely supreme only under the will of the gods.

Simply put, if the Pope receives an oracle, then no one in the world can stop him, and the whole world must provide assistance for the oracle. Conversely, if the Pope does what he wants to do, rather than because of a deity, then the Pope can only rely on himself.

The former represents humanity's awe and faith in deities, while the latter represents human desires.

Therefore, under the Pope, the ten cardinals and many other archbishops wielded considerable power. They were not accountable to the Pope; they only needed to act as servants of the Dawn and be responsible to the great being.

This is why the Black Swan assassins got out of control within the Empire; the clergy on the sacred mountain were unable to control them by issuing orders down the ranks.

The Vatican is terrible at the issue of 'decentralized power'.

But now, Ryan senses that His Holiness the Pope of the Dawn Church is changing this loosely decentralized Dawn Church.

He's doing the exact same thing the Empire did, and what Ryan did in the North.

【centralization】

Centralizing power will prevent anyone from hindering progress.

"Whether the Pope intends to purify the Dawn Church is uncertain, but he is definitely seizing power within the Dawn Church."

Saint Solarian is transforming from a pope into an emperor.

Ryan was startled by this idea, but after thinking it over, he couldn't come up with a second answer.

Would a centralized, unified Dawn Church become even more terrifying?

Definitely.

Ryan couldn't help but look towards the Imperial Capital. The Festival of Divine Grace was approaching. Was the Pope planning to break his promise and not attend the Emperor's coronation in the Imperial Capital? Was he planning to tear up the Treaty of the Kingdom of Nantes and start a war with the Empire in a completely new guise?
"Columbus III, Your Majesty Emperor Flor, must be very angry right now, right?"

……

Imperial capital city.

The emperor was indeed extremely angry and furious. He could sense that Solarion was doing the same thing as him, trying to firmly grasp the Dawn Church.

"He will break his oath!"

The emperor gritted his teeth. On the day of Divine Grace, Pope Dawn would be his most important and most important background figure, but now Pope Dawn Solarian seemed to be skipping the event.

Then what about everything he's done these past few months?
Columbus III felt he had been tricked. The angry emperor destroyed many precious objects and then summoned the two grand dukes.

Archdukes Fleming and Russell were both young and did not act arrogantly due to their age. They respected the emperor's authority, which Columbus III appreciated.

Furthermore, according to the rules of nobility, neither of these two grand dukes supports either elector. Even Grand Duke Russell, who has no choice, has not yet explicitly stated that he will support the final Viking elector.

"I think the Dawn Church will tear up the Treaty of the Kingdom of Nantes."

His Majesty the Emperor spoke directly and frankly.

“I will put Floyd back in command of the military and have him assemble the troops to go to the province of Carlos.”

That was a new territory of the empire, designated as the Province of Carlos, which was once half of the Kingdom of Carlos and is now the largest province of the Flor Empire.

The Kingdom of Carlos has been destroyed, and to this day, no one has been able to step forward and rightfully inherit that land, and the chaos there continues.

The main reason is that the nobles of the empire do not want the remaining nobles of Carlos to settle down and cause trouble for them regarding who owns the land.

The empire's nobles felt they were in the wrong in this matter, after all, they were the ones who plundered the lands of the former Kingdom of Carlos. Although those nobles were all dead, they still had many noble relatives.

Therefore, that land could not find peace for even a day.

His Majesty the Emperor wishes that the two Grand Dukes may accompany him.

"Where is Grand Duke Rodrigo?"

"Grand Duke Rodrigo will certainly be on the southern battlefield as well."

He was a supporter of the elector of the world, Freud.

"However, if Solarion succeeds in turning the Dawn Church into his personal fiefdom, the war that follows will become even more terrifying."

Emperor Christopher Columbus III of Flor was no incompetent fool. He rose to the throne amidst the chaos of those years, demonstrating exceptional talent in many areas.

When he learned what the Pope of Dawn was doing, he already foresaw that the upcoming war would be even more brutal than the previous war of faith.

Faith can surrender, but the loser of power is doomed.

This is no longer a war of faith, but a war of monarchy.

He and the Pope each had only one choice: to become the ruler of the world or a prisoner.

"Does Your Majesty intend to tear up the Treaty of the Kingdom of Nantes first?"

Grand Duke Freming asked hesitantly, and Columbus III glared at him.

He began to miss old Grand Duke Freming. Although that old man showed him no respect whatsoever, if he were standing here, he would definitely take the initiative to tear up the Treaty of Nantes on the battlefield, start a war, and then take the blame.

The new Fleming family heirs did not have this awareness.

"As the Emperor of Flor, I absolutely cannot break my promise," His Majesty the Emperor declared righteously.

"but……"

"I mean, if the Dawn Church has the potential to break the Treaty of Nantes first, you must strike first and not allow the Dawn Church to amass its army."

Grand Duke Freming nodded; he knew why.

His Majesty the Emperor and the nobles had previously discussed that if the situation on the continent of Norris were as it is now, the Empire would have no reason to fear the Dawn Church.

However, if the Dawn Church were to open up the east and west sides of the southern lands, that is, to reclaim the Kingdom of Nantes and the Kingdom of Iron Eagle, the Empire would become a laughing stock, and the Dawn Church would gain the advantage of the entire southern lands.

Therefore, the Empire is now doing its utmost to divide the southern lands into east and west sides, preventing the army of Dawn Mountain from crossing the line from the Empire to the Iron Eagle Kingdom.

This is the Empire's blockade policy against the Dawn Church.

The reason His Majesty the Emperor was pleased with the appearance of the King of Nantes in the Empire was also because he greatly helped the King of Nantes rebuild his kingdom and also dispatched a large number of troops to the Iron Eagle Kingdom, which had betrayed the Dawn Faith and was the ally that the Flor Empire was most unwilling to lose.

The two grand dukes finally understood the emperor's meaning and agreed with his judgment.

In the present empire, no one can refuse Columbus III's words. His imperial authority has reached its peak with the religious war with the Papacy. He is just waiting for the day of Divine Grace to arrive, when Emperor Flor will become the sole supreme monarch on the continent of Norris.

Royal power...replaced divine power.

After the two grand dukes left, Columbus III, alone in the palace, imagined that beautiful scene with eager eyes.

"The gods have gone far away; the future world belongs to the king."

He sat in his chair, holding a magnificent imperial scepter engraved with immortal heavenly flowers, and sat there calmly, constantly murmuring his identity.

"Emperor of Flor, Grand Pope of Light, the only King of Norris."

"All things will submit to me, and I will become the supreme ruler of this world."

"Neither the Pope nor anyone else can stop me. No one can stop me."

“I have succeeded. A great being will bestow upon me an immortal title, and history will record my name at the highest point in the world.”

"I am the emperor!"

Columbus III stared intently ahead, everything around him symbolizing the power he held; even the Grand Duke of the Empire could no longer stop him.

"I will have everything."

He looked at the scepter in his hand, the flower of heaven was magnificent. Columbus III did not like war, but now he felt that perhaps war could achieve his goals more quickly.

"Solarion, you have ruined the interests of too many people. I don't think anyone would want to see you still alive, would they?"

His Majesty the Emperor thought of one person.

Earl of Clayton.

Calais Province was very close to the Imperial Province, right next door. Earl Clayton rode a dragon and landed at the Emperor's Palace in less than an hour.

"The Earl of Clayton."

Leon Clayton knelt on one knee before the Emperor and said:
"Your Majesty, your loyal followers pay homage to you."

The emperor, high above all others, looked at Earl Clayton and asked:
“I heard that you want to kill the Pope of the Holy Mountain and become the Grand Duke of Flor in glory.”

Earl Clayton raised his head and firmly denied it:

“Absolutely not, Your Majesty.”

The emperor smiled and shook his head, saying:
“Lord Clayton, are you aware that since the interplanetary war of the gods, very few people on the continent of Norris have been able to be promoted to noble titles?”

"Because the lands covered by the North cannot be granted as rewards, the noble titles cannot be promoted. Otherwise, the most dazzling person in the Empire today would be your son, the Baron of the North."

“He is very talented, but I cannot grant him the title of earl because there is no land left to allocate to him.”

"The same reason applies to you, Lord Clayton."

"The honor required to be promoted to the rank of duke is unimaginable."

“But I think that if the head of the Pope of Dawn were to appear before the nobles, they would not refuse.”

The Earl of Clayton looked at the Emperor and finally understood what the Emperor was thinking.

"My esteemed Majesty, do you intend for me to kill Saint Solarion?"

“No, Earl Clayton, I never said that. I only wish that you could become my fifth Grand Duke follower.”

"Your Majesty the Emperor, who is not to be blamed, spoke sincerely," while Earl Clayton stood still, silent for a long time.

“My esteemed Majesty, killing Solarion is too difficult. He is the most powerful pope in history since the first pope. The great being has favored him too much, and even recently bestowed divine radiance upon him personally.”

"Without the power of a demigod, I cannot kill it."

The emperor pondered for a moment, then responded in a completely irrelevant manner:
“Earl Clayton, I hope you will become the Grand Duke of Clayton, so that your children will have a chance to become earls. However, the Grand Duke of Clayton must have superhuman power at the demigod level. I remember... before the Northern Flood came, the royal family obtained a furnace in some other world.”

"The dwarf kingdom came to me several times to beg, but I did not give in. What they did not know was that the furnace was actually the body of a god, and the eternal flame possessed unimaginable power."

"I wonder if the Clayton family has the ability to hunt giant whales? If they could obtain the carcass of a giant whale, the last bit of divine essence remaining in that furnace might be able to complete some kind of mysterious ritual."

The power of a demigod?

The Earl of Clayton needs time to think.

"I implore Your Majesty to grant Clayton some time."

"Then let's get ready. I've always hoped that Earl Clayton could become a Grand Duke."

His Majesty the Emperor waved his hand, and soon he was alone again inside the palace.

The actions of the Pope of Dawn clearly aroused murderous intent in His Majesty the Emperor, who was about to hold absolute power over the world.

That's the dissatisfaction of those in power with those in lower positions.

The empire made a major move, but a few days later, just one month before the Festival of Divine Grace, something unexpected happened to the emperor. At the height of the Dawn Pope's prestige, His Holiness the Dawn Pope Saint Solarion announced on the Holy Mountain that he would keep his promise of honesty and integrity and arrive in the capital city of the Flor Empire one month later on the Festival of Divine Grace.

“That is my promise to Emperor Flor; I will go to him.”

(End of this chapter)