The outline of the gray castle main tower was clearly visible in the evening setting sun.

The King stood still in the shadows, his silver hair fluttering in the gentle breeze, pale blue eyes cold and hard. Not even the warm yellow glow from the sun could soften those wintry blue eyes. He stood in the shadow of the trees on the hill, observing the battlefield not far away.

The Rose Crisis had affected almost the whole of Legrand.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

The so-called “Rose Crisis” referred to the recent split between the “Iron Rose” and the “White Rose”. A romantic palace poet had coined the name. Although it sounded beautiful, what it brought was a bloody war.

This flower that had bloomed in Legrand was one that reeked of blood.

With the Rose Palace as the center, disagreements and opposition gradually spread outward, spreading to the more powerful counties——those places with important castles. The owners of these castles had no choice but to also erect a distinguishing flag on the main tower to announce their position.

However, the King’s prediction was not wrong.

The war was indeed carried out with restraint.

The two sides fought their battles around important castles.

Every castle was an important military checkpoint as each towering castle was the most important fortification and military weapon integrated into one. While struggling to avoid direct confrontation, they carried out sieges and counter sieges, surprise attacks and counter surprise attacks. This led to the duration of the war to be continuously prolonged.

Right now a siege was occuring.

The whole time the King was traveling he did not avoid the fighting taking place.

He must witness the war of this era with his own eyes. Whether it was the education that Pureland himself received or the knowledge that Zhu Chi had acquired in his previous life, they were just stories from others. Only by witnessing and experiencing with his own eyes could he truly understand the wars of this era and avoid making wrong judgments based on the arrogance that stemmed from possessing modern day knowledge.

There was no room for error in war.

“Your Majesty, the battle horn signaling the start of the siege is about to sound. Are you interested in watching at a closer vantage point?” The Devil quietly appeared behind the King and asked with thoughtful consideration, “Of course, you can rest assured that they won’t discover you let alone hurt you.”

The King turned his head slightly and looked at the Devil.

The Devil stretched out his hand and made an inviting gesture: “Don’t misunderstand, Your Majesty. I’m just curious about you.”

He didn’t say what he was curious about, only waiting for the King to make a decision.

At this time, the horn blew.

On the main tower of this castle that they had encountered on their travel, a flag painted with the white rose was flying.

The soldiers laying siege on the city had bright red cloaks donned over their armor. The commander was a middle-aged knight. The King did not know him, but judging from his aura and insignia, he should belong to one of the old soldiers under the Duke of Buckingham.

The commander issued an order to attack.

“God bless my King!”

The soldiers shouted, the battle flag raised high.

The King stared at them for a while and accepted the Devil’s invitation.

The Devil indeed had his methods. He whistled softly and a nightmare horse slipped from the bone carriage quietly and trotted over to the King docilely. The Devil stretched out his hand and instantly a golden saddle appeared on the back of the nightmare horse, allowing the King to mount and sit on its back. The Devil patted the nightmare horse on the neck and held the reins.

“Alright, let us be off.”

He said briskly.

The setting sun was almost completely below the horizon and the sky was on the edge of twilight. The Devil took the nightmare horse’s reins and led the King into the battlefield as silently as if they had turned into shadows.

Just as the nightmare carriage was able to pass through the giant trees in the Konosen Forest that day, today the Devil and the King were also walking through a space that overlapped with reality. The King could smell the scent of blood coming from the battlefield, could clearly see the glinting of the sharp swords, and could clearly hear the sound of metal colliding on metal.

But no one around them noticed them and the flying arrows on the battlefield could not reach them either.

The King watched the war in person, experiencing it all in a complete full body immersion.

First, it was necessary to capture the outer fort field of the castle. The trebuchet was pushed out onto the battlefield and the boulder it let loose smashed a hole in the solid tower. There was no doubt that the archers hidden on the tower had now become minced meat. There were not many trebuchets, used just to interrupt the rain of arrows that continued to fly from the archers.

With the help of the trebuchet, the soldiers pushed forward and quickly filled the ditch under the castle. The commander who guarded the tower quickly discovered this. At the Devil’s deliberate calling attention to, the King saw that the guards of the castle had poured boiling oil over the castle walls. Some of the soldiers filling the trenches avoided it while some were not so lucky, howling as they fell to the ground in pain.

The King sat with a straight back on the back of the nightmare horse.

He did not look away and watched the scene calmly.

The King observed the battlefield and analyzed the general combat effectiveness of the soldiers, while the Devil observed the King.

Many people didn’t understand the principle “If you want to wear a crown, you must bear its weight.” Many people yearned for power, but could they really bear the weight of all of the responsibilities and consequences that power brought?

The general must watch his soldiers die, and the judge must be responsible for every life he tried. And what about the King?

The King was the backbone of this country, even if it was bloody, sinful, good or bad……all the things that ordinary people would be unable to face with an easy conscience, he must accept without a change in his expression, without showing any weakness at all.

The battle had reached its cruelest part.

The commander took the lead and urged his horse underneath the suspension bridge, roaring commands to the soldiers to erect a high ladder. A soldier hurriedly climbed up the tower on a ladder. The enemy guards shouted and launched into a close combat fight with them. Soldiers continued to fall from the tower.

The King was just under the suspension bridge. He raised his head and watched the soldiers fall, his fingers moved slightly but did not lift up from their resting position.

He knew clearly that he could not touch them nor could he save them.

But he did not lower his head, and the falling figure of every soldier was reflected in his ice-blue eyes.

The suspension bridge was lowered, and the commander rushed in with the long-awaiting cavalry. The enemies retreated to the depths of the castle unwillingly and fearfully.

The outcome of the battle had been determined, and what came after was victory.

“Do you want to share the victory with them? Your Majesty.” The Devil asked.

“No need.”

The nightmare horse came to the edge of the battlefield. It was already dusk.

The King suddenly jumped from the back of the nightmare horse. The Devil was surprised when he saw him pick up a blood-stained longbow from the ground. Immediately afterwards, the King pulled out an arrow stuck in a soldier’s body and positioned it on the bowstring. He then turned and faced the gray tower with the arrow ready.

He let go.

The blood-stained iron arrow cut through the air and the next moment, the rope tied to the white rose flag was shot through, the flag falling down from midair.

The White Rose banner fell into the flames of war, and the King said, “We leave.”

“Your Majesty, if you are a King, then you must definitely be a King robed in blood.”

The Devil sighed quietly.

………………

The vow knights who had stayed with the King had already been waiting for some time so they were very relieved to see the King returning unharmed. They rode in a decently disguised carriage and passed quietly by the edge of the battlefield.

Their destination was Caernarfon.

There, the King would join Ingres’ army.

Yes.

The King used a single letter to make the State of Ingres agree to his request.

He finally borrowed that sharp knife.

According to the King’s request, Ingres’ army did not pass through the wide official roads, but chose a more rugged and hidden mountain road. But this was not a difficult request for the Ingres living in the mountainous areas.

Suddenly, the King remembered something.

He asked the Devil driving the carriage: “Will your kind participate in the war among mankind?”

“It depends on how you define it, Your Majesty.” The Devil seemed to have thought of something, “Ah, one or two hungry ghouls chewing a few corpses secretly will definitely happen. You can’t expect those guys to have any morals, right? But……with that damn knife over our heads, I don’t think any guy has the courage to directly participate in the war.”

The Devil did not explain what “the damn knife” was.

The King knocked on the carriage window, his face suddenly cold for some reason.

“Don’t bother with these battles anymore, rush to Caernarfon at full speed.”

The King ordered.

The carriage turned into a light smoke and flitted over the hills.

………………

A port belonging to the Five Ports Alliance on the southeast coast of Legrand.

A ship passing through the Abyss Strait docked here quietly.

At this season, the Abyss Strait was shrouded by the monsoon. While it was a smooth sail to the east from Legrand, other ships would have to face violent storms when they come to Legrand. However, this ship did not seem to be affected by the wind and waves at all. It cut through the wind and waves as easily as one walking on a flat ground.

This was a very beautiful big ship, flying a snow-white flag with a sacred cross painted on it. The sailors on the ship were all silent.

The person in charge of the port waited there respectfully.

The white stairs were lowered, and a man wearing a bright red cassock and a scarlet cape over the shoulders walked down slowly. His clothes showed his identity as a cardinal.

As such a high-ranking member of the Holy Church, he appeared to be relatively young. Under the square-ridged cap was a gentle face that appeared very approachable. The light brown hair swayed slightly from the breeze and the facial features were softly hadsome——if anyone had met the Pope in person, he would find that the young cardinal’s eyebrows were somewhat similar to that of the Pope.

Of course, no one dared to point this out.

The young cardinal looked at the land of Legrand and held the golden cross on his chest as he said softly: “May the Holy Lord bless Legrand.”

“May the Holy Lord bless Legrand.”

The person in charge of greeting the new arrivals echoed the words.

The young cardinal smiled slightly, in his hand he also carried a small box.

In the era where states were divided and the kingdoms often conquered each other, there was actually an invisible kingdom. It had no walls or borders, but it covered the two sides of the Abyss Strait, high above every castle tower. From the ringing of the bronze bells the sound of this kingdom echoed throughout the four seasons.

It was——

The kingdom of God.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

God’s kingdom was everywhere, and every heart that sounded with the holy voice was His realm.

The young cardinal came for this. He was not just a cardinal.

He was the Pope’s special envoy.

——He came to crown Legrand’s new King in the place of the Pope.

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