Throne of the North.

Chapter 751 Proxy War

This is something that Solarion finds hard to understand.

The Dawn Church absolutely does not want Hilder to die; in fact, they would be willing to extend her lifespan if possible.

The same was true in the Empire. The Empire never imagined that Hilder could be killed. This 'trust' between the two sides had reached the point where Hilder didn't need powerful superhumans by her side.

But Hilde died, killed by the Black Swan assassin.

Neither the Empire nor the Papacy had any objections to the final result, so... who gave the order?
In Solarion's view, this must have been done by clergy within the Dawn Church.

And so, within this supreme cathedral, in the eternally bright cathedral above, he coldly questioned.

This incident put the Dawn Church in a passive position because it united the Empire.

Faced with the Pope's questioning, the clergy of the Highest Church looked at each other, each a suspect, but none of them knew which side had issued the order.

Solarion looked at the clergy, and he couldn't see why the Dawn Church had become so corrupt ever since he returned from his trip to the Abyss to atone for his sins. Many clergy members were filled with distrust of him, and even he, the Pope, couldn't control everything.

"The Empire's cavalry army, composed of nobles, is heading towards us. The Empire has not openly violated the Treaty of the Kingdom of Nantes, and we cannot be the first to do so."

"However... the Vatican only has ten armies. The rest are just servants of the great Lord. They are not soldiers, but believers in the Lord."

……

The world's hegemony is concentrated in the Papacy and the Empire, who possess the ultimate right to interpret everything. Therefore, naturally, the question remains whether the Treaty of the Kingdom of Nantes has been violated...

Anyway, nobody admits it.

The situation on the continent of Norris has become tense once again due to the changing fortunes of the empire, and those most terrified in the face of this trend are, of course, the kingdoms and noble territories.

Iron Eagle Kingdom.

This place has already betrayed the Dawn Church. In that short year, the Iron Eagle Kingdom forcefully killed a large number of clergy, severed ties with the Dawn, and became a path for the Empire to divide the Dawn faith.

However, precisely because the process was so violent and left too many hidden dangers, ruins and killings were everywhere in the Iron Eagle Kingdom, and the nobles and the king parted ways.

At the outset of the betrayal, many nobles declared the king's betrayal, questioned the reasons for the Iron Eagle Kingdom's rebellion, and supported a prince of the Haakon royal family to form a new political system to oppose the Iron Eagle King who declared the Dawn Church unjust.

The royal family's massacre of clergy and believers led to a surge in the power of the prince's faction. The strong support from the Dawn Church almost allowed them to breach the capital of the Iron Eagle Kingdom.

However, the scandal involving the Pope occurred later. As the saying goes, faith can make or break a nation. The Dawn faction of the Iron Eagle Kingdom quickly collapsed, and the royal family seized the opportunity to kill the prince and a large number of nobles, laying the foundation for the gradual stabilization of the kingdom.

However, with the Pope's return and regain of power, the Iron Eagle Kingdom once again became restless.

Those defeated nobles and members of the royal family who still believed in the dawn reconnected with the sacred mountain.

Ultimately, it comes down to the imbalance between oppression and vested interests.

Why did the Iron Eagle Kingdom accompany Dawn to the Empire's embrace? And why did those nobles fight to the death against the king for the sake of Dawn's faith?

Rights on this land have never been equal.

Now, with news of the Empire's major movements, all factions within the Iron Eagle Kingdom are eager to make their move.

Importantly, some people became their respective supporters.

Viscount Goffman was an agent of the Kingdom of Nantes chosen by the Dawn Church.

The Holy Mountain had no choice but to select nobles because, in the chaos of the previous year, the royal family and nobles of the Iron Eagle Kingdom had carried out massacres, and there was no longer a complete church or a complete clergy system left on this land.

Some fled, some died, and those left behind in these ruins were only the nobles who could not escape.

Ironically, this also proves why the Iron Eagle Kingdom was able to succeed. The clergy of the Dawn Church, scattered throughout the world, were too corrupt. They couldn't even organize an effective force to fight against the kingdom, even though they were the ones who controlled more public opinion and reason.

Viscount Goffman was no ordinary man; he was a member of an ancient noble family, a founding member of the Iron Eagle Kingdom. As a result, even in the previous war with the kingdom, when they were defeated, only most of their soldiers and the previous Viscount Goffman were killed.

The viscount's territory and castle returned to the hands of the Goffman bloodline. After the defeat, the noble bloodline once again stood in the castle that had been conquered once.

This is an old tradition among nobles: they never go to extremes; in fact, they might just pay some money and call it a day.

But the new Viscount Goffman was unwilling to accept this. He had lost his wealth and status. With the end of the kingdom's rebellion, he, the loser, had even lost the right to meet the king. He would have to wait at least three generations before he could continue to curry favor with the king and maintain the loyalty of the Viscount Goffman family.

However, three generations is enough for this family to decline.

Don't think that you can get rich by staying in your own territory and not going anywhere. If you don't communicate with the outside world, not only will a viscount's territory be in a bad way, but even a duke's territory will not be much better off.

Just as the Viscount was trying to devise a plan, a terrible commotion came from the Empire, and then clergy appeared before Viscount Goffman at the Holy Mountain.

As expected, Viscount Goffman once again prostrated himself at the feet of the Dawn, becoming a devout follower. This did not frighten the viscount; on the contrary, it felt like he had found a sense of belonging. His family had always been steadfast believers in the Dawn, and before their betrayal, they would go to the church to pray every week. Goffman fondly remembered the days when he was just the heir, lingering among the nuns in the depths of the church.

“Bishop Santos, I yearn for the light of the Lord of Dawn to shine upon this land once more, so that the traitorous Haakon royal family may receive the punishment they deserve.”

"But I must also tell you the truth: I have lost my army, and I have lost my population. The slaves of Viscount Goffman's territory have been divided up, and those damned fellows didn't even leave a few pretty maids for my castle!"

Goffman gritted his teeth. Why was he so unwilling to agree to the request from the bishop who had come from afar? It was all because those greedy fellows had gone too far.

Bishop Santos was completely shrouded in a snow-white cloak. Although no one would guess anything else from his attire, he used this method to conceal his identity throughout the journey.

“Viscount Goffman, you need not worry at all. This war is one that does not require soldiers. Our battle is not on the battlefield.”

"The Flor Empire has shamelessly violated the Treaty of the Kingdom of Nantes, but the righteous and great Dawn will never break its promise."

"We will kill those nobles who have come south on this land, make the empire pay a terrible price, and let those heretics and blasphemers of the empire feel the judgment from the dawn."

Slowly raising his head, Bishop Santos handed the snow-white crystal cross to Viscount Goffman.

“My lord has sensed your loyalty, Viscount. Choose a son to fight for my lord, and the lord will grant him strength.”

"We will put you back at the pinnacle of this kingdom." The glowing crystal cross radiated a mysterious power that dazzled the eye. Viscount Goffman raised his head, his gaze hardening before the holy light.

"Thanks be to our Lord, the Goffman family will certainly live up to His trust."

"But... how do you use this thing?"

……

Rudy Goffman arrived at his father's study and opened the door to see his stern-faced viscount father.

"Father."

"Rudy, we lost the war a year ago, but the dawn has not yet faded, and the Goffman family will never disappear from history. We will always be devout followers of the Lord of the Dawn."

"And now, the Lord needs us to fight for Him."

The Viscount handed the crystal cross to Rudy and continued:
"Its name is 'Angel's Judgment on Earth.' Take it with you and pray fervently to the great Lord, who will grant you the power of an angel."

“In the depths of that eternal heaven, an angel will choose you, sacrificing his physical body to merge with your soul and grant you great power.”

"That is what you have always longed for, and now it will come. All you need to do is wield the power of the angels' judgment and kill the enemies from the Empire."

"An evil empire, attempting to overthrow the light of dawn, but they have forgotten that every day the light of dawn pierces the darkness, and the dawn never fades."

"As you wish, my father."

Rudy held the cross tightly to his chest with both hands and said devoutly:
"Great Lord, grant me the power to judge evil."

As the Dawn Doctrine's prayers resounded, a pure white light spread and enveloped Rudy. Above the Viscount's castle, a fleeting beam of holy light descended, piercing through the castle and landing directly on Rudy.

In a hazy vision, Viscount Goffman saw a six-winged angel appear behind Rudy. She was holy and beautiful, naked, and embraced Rudy in her arms. Then her entire illusory body merged into Rudy's body, and their souls became one.

As the holy light gradually faded, Rudy Goffman slowly stood up. His eyes were replaced by a snow-white light, and even in its dimness, they did not reveal the pupils that a human should possess.

Viscount Goffman was excited, but quickly became awestruck. He noticed that Rudy's eyes no longer held the fearful yet worshipful look he had given his father; instead, they held a cold indifference to everything. Rudy looked down upon all the good and evil in the world, like a high angel.

"Father."

Fortunately, Rudy spoke up. He was still the same young man, but he had undergone a change that the Viscount could not understand.

“Very good, Rudy.”

He had so much to say—about the Iron Eagle Kingdom, about Goffman's resurgence, about… But now, the Viscount couldn't say a word; the words were swallowed back down his throat.

"Rudy, at dawn tomorrow, I will write a letter in the name of the Goffman family to challenge the Empire. If all goes well, you will go to the Kingdom of Nantes to face a noble of the Empire's viscount lineage."

"A duel in the name of nobility. Your task is simple: kill your opponent, then judge them in the name of the Dawn, and tell the entire continent of Norris that the majesty of the Dawn is inviolable, and the empire's defeat is only a matter of time."

"I believe you will win, my child."

“I will fight to the death for the Lord, Father.”

After Rudy finished speaking, he turned and left the Viscount's study.

Watching his departing figure, Viscount Goffman felt a pang of heartache. He didn't know whether all of this was for the best or for the worst.

The Kingdom of Nantes.

The place became lively once again, but the King of Nantes felt that none of it concerned him.

The royal family was slaughtered, leaving the king all alone. His few followers, after returning to the kingdom, had their own territory and titles. Deep within the vast palace, only the king's heavy breathing and the screams of noblewomen remained.

Since the return of the empire, the King of Nantes has only done one thing: have children. He fears that the royal bloodline will wither after his death, so he works tirelessly every day, hoping that the once prosperous royal family of Nantes will return.

He could not allow the royal bloodline to be ruined in his hands.

Even when news came from the empire, the king entrusted all matters to the nobles for discussion and handling.

"Viscount Goffman of the Iron Eagle Kingdom has challenged the Empire to a duel. What a laughable fellow! What makes him think he's qualified to oppose the Empire?"

"And what exactly is the Haakon royal family doing? In just two days, so many nobles in the Iron Eagle Kingdom have issued duel challenges to the Empire in the name of the Dawn's followers."

The nobles of the Kingdom of Nantes, now backed by the empire, have lost all their former fear and trembling. They are now indignantly condemning the other nobles for their overestimation of their abilities.

"This must be the Holy Mountain's doing. The question is, what should we do now?"

The nobles exchanged glances, finally looking at His Majesty the King. The young king, with dark circles under his eyes, yawned and waved his hand, saying:

"Give those duel letters to the Empire and see what they want to do with them."

The kingdom's messengers arrived swiftly, delivering duel invitations from all sides to the first and most prestigious cavalry unit in history, which was marching south.

Hermione Meyers, as the legionary commander of this noble cavalry, smiled and handed out the duel invitations to all the noble knights for them to read.

"Hahaha, those ridiculous guys, are they still living in the era of over a hundred years ago? They actually think this is a war?"

"This is politics, a bunch of fools."

In this magnificent cavalry force, the most numerous were not the noble knights, nor their warhorses, but the messengers circling overhead.

Using magic to traverse space and transmit messages in a very short time is still a luxury. Under normal circumstances, they rely on messengers to transmit messages.

The noble knights quickly sent the news to the empire.

(End of this chapter)