The King held his wine goblet, his gaze falling on the Archbishop of Jollingshire.

The Archbishop of Yoringshire shuddered unconsciously. The moment the King glanced over, he felt as if a knife had been scraped across his neck. However, he quickly calmed down. As the second most powerful figure in the church in Legrand, he knew much more about the situation on the other side of the Abyss Strait than others.

No one could violate the glory of the Holy Lord, he was sure of this.

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

“Ladies and gentlemen, in the name of the merciful Lord.” The Archbishop of Yoringshire held up the cross on his chest, and he looked around at the other people at the banquet, “Can we witness such a tragedy happen?”

People exchanged glances with each other, and many stood up one after another, carefully using words that expressed their views in terms that echoed the archbishop of Yoringshire County, but did not directly oppose the King.

The secular nobles were not like the parish nobles who really had too much devotion to the Holy Court.

They cared more about their own interests than their piety.

With the Holy Court being so mighty and powerful, they wanted to know what attitude the King would take towards the Holy Court. There was no doubt that even though the nobles have gained a lot from the recent “Free Chamber of Commerce Regulations” and the blockade of the Black Death, but these benefits were not enough for them to completely stand on the opposite side of the Holy Court together with the King.

But, equally, they did not want to confront the King who had just won a victory and whose power and prestige have never been higher than now in the country.

They carefully reserved a leeway for themselves.

But the lords and vassal state representatives on the border were not so polite…..They hoped that the royal family and the Holy Court would completely turn against each other so that they could benefit from it.

“Mr. Bishop.” The King turned the goblet in his hand, his tone sounding amiable, and he even had a smile on his face——if it wasn’t for the fact that it was the same smile he had when he ordered a purge after the Rose Crisis then it would be even better, “I heard you are quite accomplished in theology, and you once got the opportunity to go to the Holy See and speak with the Pope. Is that so?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Although the bishop of Jollingshire County was a little puzzled and didn’t understand why the King mentioned this matter, he still bowed slightly and answered in a tone of humility on the surface, but in fact he was quite proud inside.

“I was once fortunate to have been taught by His Holiness.”

“In this case, I think you must possess the essence of the Pope’s thinking.” The King raised his wine goblet in another direction, “I have been confused for a long time about whether there is a punishment of purgatory after death. Ladies and gentlemen, I believe you all must be as confused as I am. Since there is a bishop who has been taught by the Pope and an abbot who was born in the Holy Spirit Bay and participated in the debate of the Whitsunday Council, why not ask them to discuss this issue and to clarify for us?”

Holy Spirit Bay, Whitsunday Council Debate.

The sound of the crowd instantly grew, and even the expression on the face of the bishop of Jollingshire County changed slightly.

Holy Spirit Bay was where the holy city of the Holy Court was located today, and the Whitsunday Council debate was the highest meeting of the entire Holy Court. All the people who were born in Holy Spirit Bay and qualified to participate in the holy congregation were almost all members of the core power of the Holy Court, the future reserve of the twelve sanctuaries.

There was a joke used to mock:

Even if it was a little priest, as long as they claimed to be from the Holy Court, even the archbishop of a princely country was willing to bend down and kiss their shoe.

Although it was exaggerated, the truth could be glimpsed.

With the relationship between the King and the Holy Court, how could he get the support of such a person?

The white-haired and thin Father Anil stood up from his seat, and his student, Father Remy, looked at him worriedly.

The Master of the Households loudly introduced to everyone present the unfamiliar Father Anil——he was born in the Holy Court, studied at Trinity Theological College, and became a professor of the college after graduation. When the Holy Court reunified the doctrine in 1411, he was at the meeting table, and now he was the abbot of the Legrand Northland Monastery.

1411 Whitsunday Council, Father Anil.

The expressions of some church members in the audience became complicated, and they exchanged looks with each other. Apparently, a small number of these church members had heard of this great theologian who once defeated the Pope in debates. In fact, the Holy Court originally planned to confirm the theory of purgatory at the meeting in 1411, but because of Father Anil’s refutation, some of the Holy Court’s elders changed their original thinking when it was time to make the decision.

It wasn’t until Father Anil was excommunicated from the Holy Court that the Pope was able to formally write the theory of purgatory into the orthodox doctrine at the third holy meeting.

The big belly of the Archbishop of Jollingshire obviously contained more red wine and power scheming. He didn’t recognize who his opponent was, but after hearing that Father Anil was now just an insignificant abbot of the Northland, he showed a look of contempt.

“Sir.” Abbot Anil said gently, “What is purgatory? Where did it come from?”

“Purgatory is the place of judgment. My dear Mr. Abbot, that is something that even infants know.” The Archbishop of Yoringshire sneered, “Need I tell you more? The souls who have been forgiven of their sins and have not yet made penance, neither can enter the kingdom of God nor go to hell, will be placed in purgatory to suffer temporarily, waiting for all sins to be washed away, and so they need our redemption.”

“Sir, this is stipulated by the doctrine of 1417, not the origin of purgatory.” Abbot Anil said in a steady voice, “The term purgatory was proposed by priests such as Amberkin, Ross, and Peter in the 12th century. That is a wrong interpretation, and their basis comes from verses 39 to 26 of the twelfth volume of the Holy Book, and verse 32 of the twelfth volume…..”

As he spoke, Father Anil recited all the verses he mentioned verbatim.

“Isn’t this enough to explain the existence of purgatory?” The Archbishop of Jollingshire sarcastically said, “Since you remember, you shouldn’t make such a big mistake.”

“On the contrary.” Abbot Anil replied, “It exactly proves that purgatory does not exist. The space of purgatory is not clearly pointed out in the holy book from the beginning to the end, but the latecomers misinterpreted these original designations that we should gain salvation by faith, and in the holy book, we were warned with a clear attitude: there is a complete separation between the living and the dead.”

“Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead.”

This was the admonition in the holy book, and Father Anil recited it aloud.

“The Holy Lord has already stated these clearly with His tolerance and mercy——

After death, the soul does not need to go through the purifying stage of purgatory, but is in a state of dormancy, which lasts until the last judgment and final resurrection; the worlds of the living and the dead are completely separated, and there can be no connection that may occur between them, all acts of intercession by the living for the dead, including prayers, offerings of Eucharist, buying indulgences, etc., have no meaning.”

There was an uproar among the crowd.

This was the first time someone had publicly declared so loudly on such a political occasion among the upper class in Legrand that there was no purgatory.

The Archbishop of Jollingshire County pointed tremblingly at the fearless Abbot Anil: “You, you, you…..do you even want to deny and betray your own mission of salvation as an apostle?!”

“Yes!” Abbot Anil replied sharply, “I never thought that I have the right to redeem anyone on behalf of the supreme Holy Lord. Only devout faith can establish communication between the apostles and the Holy Lord. Not even the Holy See can teach a sinner to ascend to the kingdom of God! The key to the kingdom of God is no longer in our hands, but in the hands of all! The secular world has nothing to do with the soul!”

Some nobles who originally wanted to get up sat back to their original positions after hearing these words.

There were varying expressions on their faces.

Especially for the nobles in the south, doing business had always been derogatory in the teachings of the Holy Court, and it had always been considered that only people who have committed crimes would do it. Banking, usury and other related businesses have been denounced as “crimes” and “heresy”. But in fact, the cost of maintaining nobles’ territories was very great, and the closer the nobles were to the commercial booming area in the south, the more dissatisfied they were with these precepts.

Putting aside this point, the various miscellaneous taxes they pay to the Holy Court every year were also not a small expense.

But these people were only a minority, and more people immediately changed their faces when they heard the shocking words of Abbot Anil. Many madams and ladies even held handkerchiefs to their mouths, looking on the verge of fainting.

Several priests stood up one after another and loudly refuted Abbot Anil.

At first, they were still citing various regulations and various interpretations of the holy book, but Abbot Anil was more familiar with these regulations and the interpretation of the holy book than they were. He was able to recite the full text of all the arguments against himself on the spot, and then refute them one by one by citing the holy book.

In the end, the priests were practically left speechless, and could only angrily accuse Abbot Anil of being a “blasphemer” and a “heretic” who should be burned at the stake.

“May I ask you all, is the status of the Holy See higher than the voice of the Holy Lord? Can we think that the words of mortals are above the teachings of the true God?” Abbot Anil asked sharply, “The pating of indulgence itself is the blasphemy towards the sacred! The Holy Court has never had the right to redeem people’s souls, and the only way to obtain salvation is faith itself!”

“I am willing to bear all the responsibilities for my words today. If pious belief is sinful, then I am willing to be burned for it!”

Abbot Anil replied sonorously. He raised his hand to hold the cross on his chest and held it high.

Father Remy stood up and also raised his cross high.

Abbot Anil looked around at everyone present. His hair was white and his hands were wrinkled, but his eyes clearly revealed rock-like strength and fortitude.

The light that fell from the sky enveloped him, and he was more like a benevolent saint than that depicted in all the frescoes and all the statues.

The great hall fell silent.

In the silence, the King put down his wine goblet and clapped his hands: “Thank you for clarifying my doubts, Mr. Abbot.”

Saying this, the King looked around the hall.

He smiled slightly.

“Ladies and gentlemen, shouldn’t we applaud such a good debate? Shouldn’t we rejoice that our mistakes have finally been righted?”

The King’s tone was extremely kind, but his eyes were also extremely cold.

——This was an informal declaration of taking sides.

At the seats, some people began to follow the King to applaud, and soon the number became more and more, mainly the southeast nobles and some original royalist nobles. Representatives of Ingres and Kriya also applauded, along with some small vassal states in the central and southern regions.

High lords and larger vassal states sat stiffly among the applauding crowd.

Their faces were livid, and they neither reprimanded nor agreed.

“Cheers to faith!”

The King smiled, raised his golden wine goblet high, and saluted everyone present. Then he drank the wine in one gulp.

Those who applauded raised their goblets and shouted in unison: “Cheers to faith.”

Amidst the cheers, the King smiled and looked down at his empty wine goblet——A toast to faith! Cheers!

As soon as the wine goblet was put down on the table, the King clapped his hands. The old judge who presided over the meeting of glory baci then stood up, holding a regulation document in his hand.

“Now that we realize our mistakes, we can’t go any further down the wrong path.” The King said lightly, turning a blind eye to the livid faces of the lords and priests, “In order to make up for our mistakes, the royal council has drawn up such a draft.”

A group of judges dressed in black, led by the castle attendants, walked into the hall and distributed the proposed regulation documents to each person.

“Limitation of Purgatory Creeds and Priesthood Ordinances”

Seeing the name of the draft, the corners of General Edmund’s eyes twitched for a moment. For a moment, he felt that what he was holding in his hand was not a piece of document, but a sword.

A war without gunpowder, but equally dangerous was taking place.

He took a deep breath slowly, and finally understood what the King wanted to do with the Duke of Buckingham’s funeral——

How was this a funeral! This was clearly a declaration of war!

This regulation was the first clarion call.

Facing the authority of the Holy Court, the King finally tore away the illusion of harmony on the surface, and put all the enmity on the card table first. He chose to use Abbot Anil, the leader of the “Pure and Holy Faction” who had been expelled from the Holy City, as a pawn, and began to challenge the authority of the Pope.

Should he be called crazy or should he be called fearless?

Even  the nobles who had applauded before, when they saw this document, their faces instantly changed, and whipped their heads up to look at the King sitting on the throne. The rest of the priests, lords, and vassal state representatives reacted even more strongly, and many people stood up directly, wanting to say something.

However, just as they stood up, heavy horseshoes echoed from the door of the hall.

Tap, tap, tap.

The sound of the iron hooves falling on the rocky floor was deep and powerful, bringing an unsettling solemn chill.

A war horse and a knight appeared at the entrance of the banquet hall.

Behind the knight was the deep dark night, and the brilliant candlelight reflected off the iron armor he wore. The knight wore cold iron gauntlets and a long sword hung from his waist. He held the reins in one hand and his helmet in the other. His shoulder length silver hair was tied behind his head, and his icy blue eyes were as still as the cold edge of a blade.

General Johan.

He had come.

Today marked the Duke of Buckingham’s funeral and the ceremony in which he would officially become Defender of the King.

At the moment when the opponents stood up and the undercurrent in the hall was surging, he stepped into the banquet hall.

The representatives of the vassal states stopped talking from the moment General Johan stepped into the hall. Those who stood up exchanged glances with each other. The lords on the borders slowly sat up straight, and the noble madams and ladies had a premonition of what would happen next, some flickering their eyes back and forth between General Johan and the other knights at the banquet, nervously and somewhat expectantly.

The King raised his goblet at his cousin.

The Master of the Households announced with a loud voice to all present that the King’s defender, General Johan, had arrived.

Under the many gazes, General Johan raised his hand and clenched his fist, beating his heart.

The collision of iron made a crisp sound.

“I swear by the honor of the knight, I will defend Your Majesty’s dignity and authority with my life.”

General Johan’s voice was deep and powerful, and he stared at the King who was toasting to him on the throne.

“For the rest of my life, I will take the duty and honor of the defender as my duty. All those who do not support Your Majesty, I will punish with a sharp sword and trample under iron hooves.”

“Now——”

General Johan took off his gauntlets and threw them to the ground.

“I make my challenge to all the opponents of His Majesty here!”

The iron gauntlets fell to the ground with a clang.

The flickering candlelight fell on young General Johan——he had inherited his father’s dukedom, and now he would inherit the title of “Defender” from the Duke of Buckingham as well.

The first knight who opposed the new regulations stood up from the banquet table and walked out. He picked up the iron gauntlets thrown to the ground by General Johan: “I accept your challenge.”

This was the Middle Ages.

This was the era of knights.

Beneath all the elegant etiquette of toasting and drinking, the most savage, primitive and violent impulses were concealed. Blood and armor, long swords and duels were the most revered and noble way of adjudicating in this era——at the cost of one party’s glory and one party’s death. The lords could not defeat Abbot Anil theologically, but they could defeat the King’s defender in the dueling ring.

That meant that the King’s plan today would fail——

No one would trust a King who did not have absolute martial force!

At this moment, General Johan symbolized the King himself.

The King put his honor into his hands.

The Rose family had never been afraid of shedding blood, and the dueling stage was set in the square in front of the hall. The torches that had been prepared were lit one by one, and the flames circled the dueling arena.

The master of ceremonies began to announce the knights on both sides of the duel: “The Rose family, defender of the King! General Johan!”

General Johan galloped forward, the scarlet cloak on his back billowed, and the King’s personal guards spontaneously raised the Rose royal banner high for him. The Duke of Buckingham’s old staff cheered loudly. He drew out the long sword at his waist. This time, the dueling arena was much smaller than that of the usual horse-fighting contests. The two sides would not use lances, but a more dangerous melee style duel.

“Dacke State, Sir Tetson!”

General Johan’s opponent also stepped onto the arena, wearing a blue cloak and holding a shield with the laurel family crest in one hand. Facing the son of the Duke of Buckingham, the bloodline of the imperial lion, he maintained enough vigilance and attention.

At the moment when the master of ceremonies announced the start of the duel, General Johan’s horse galloped forward like the wind. The two sides approached in an instant. General Johan held his sword, the blade tilted sideways. His opponent was also a long-established knight with a record to boast about.

With the cold wind blowing across his face, General Johan was extremely calm.

The war horses finally collided. At that moment, General Johan let out a loud roar, and the long sword cut  sharply through the air. Sir Tetson raised his shield to meet him, and in a flash, the side of the long sword slashed against the shield. This was not a miss, but a more deadly attack——because in the next moment, General Johan and his horse leaped upwards.

The King had used this trick in the Battle of Benz, and now it was also utilized by General Johan.

In his life, the Duke of Buckingham taught two of the best knights in the world.

One was his nephew! One was his son!

The horses neighed, the knights roared, and General Johan in mid-air had turned into a fierce lion. His father’s glory revived within him, and his long sword slashed hard, knocking away the enemy’s shield.

Blood, the flash of a sword.

The horse landed on the ground, and General Johan galloped out like a breeze. Behind him, a head flew up high, and blood sprayed like a fountain.

“Next!”

General Johan roared, and he threw his gauntlets to the ground again.

Behind him, the dead body of Sir Tetson fell from his horse.

The wind blew across the earth, and the fire from the torches rose upwards, burning high.

“Next!”

The corpses gradually piled up, and Charles looked at General Johan, who was swinging his sword atop his horse, as if the young Duke of Buckingham appeared before his eyes again.

The last time the iron gauntlets fell to the ground, no one dared to step into the dueling arena. Blood dripped down General Johan’s armor. He reined in his horse with one hand and held his sword in the other, standing proudly and coldly among the corpses that surrounded him. All those who met his gaze involuntarily backed off.

The master of ceremonies shouted three times, but there was no answer.

He announced loudly: “The defender is born!!”

General Johan got off his horse, drew his sword and moved forward. The crowd carved out a wide path for him leading directly to the main hall.

The King stepped down from his throne.

“Congratulations, my defender!”

The King gazed at his cousin, and raised his golden goblet aloft.

“For you, I fight!”

General Johan took the wine goblet served by the servant and toasted the King.

“Defender!” “Defender!”

Cheers erupted like a tidal wave, and thunderous applause burst forth. In the crowd, the former subordinates of the Duke of Buckingham burst into tears.

There was an uproar of voices and cheers, and amidst the din, no one noticed that a bard was trembling all over.

Kriya’s old bard put his hands on the strings, he looked at the King holding the golden goblet, at the smiling General Johan, at the corpses, at the fire and blood…..Countless words skimmed across his mind. He finally understood his destiny in this life.

It was destined that he was to only write an unprecedented epic in his life.

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

That was the epic of the birth of the Rose family from blood and fire!

This was a family born in blood, and the young son of the lion, like his father, raised the sword for the King. He was the King’s shield and the King’s sword.

The contract of the previous generation was passed on to the younger generation.

The heroic soul of the Rose family was to never die.

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