General Johan led the knights to gallop in the fire, thunder rolled down the sky and the earth, and the world fell into the final flames of war. There were battlefields in the sky and the earth. Twelve towers rose from the ground, the throne of bones was suspended high in the sky, and the fight between the two kings was shrouded in countless strong streams of fire, which was no longer something that mortals could witness.

“Kill!”

General Johan waved his sword and roared. He did not raise his head or look at the battlefield in the sky.

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

This was already a battle that would overthrow a country on the chessboard, with kings fighting kings, generals fighting generals, soldiers fighting soldiers… The battlefield was divided into countless parts. Their monarch had already ties his life and death to the battlefield that belonged to him, so the soldiers and the people should also do their best to face their own battle.

No need to worry, no need to wait and see, no need to hesitate.

Everyone strived to move forward.

Clang——

General Johan’s sword collided with Sisian’s shield, and sparks flew out, illuminating the faces of the two men. The war horses passed each other, then quickly turned around and fought again.

Kriya’s archers stood side by side with the Iron Rose Cavalry, turning into a whirlwind of arrows and iron, exchanging fatal blows with the Knights Templar. The dark red royal flag and the snow-white cross flag were like red roses and white roses blooming on the earth at the same time. The air was filled with the scent of iron and blood, and heads occasionally flew up and then rolled down heavily.

Fight! Fight! Fight!

All the voices gathered together, like a cry that had been suppressed for a thousand years to finally burst out.

Mortals use swords to demand the dignity and glory they want from God.

………………

A scroll so magnificent that even artists could hardly imagine it spread out across the sky. Twelve towers formed twelve silver vortex centers, and the flowing clouds in the sky were dyed silver. Seven stars were suspended in Theolde’s hand, and a double-edged sword floated in front of him.

He stole the divine power of the Holy Lord and displayed the image of a god as described in the holy book.

One-third of the sun, one-third of the moon and one-third of the stars fell on the sea of mercury weaved by the twelve towers. In the holy book, it was said that after God took these things from the sky, one-third of the sun, moon and stars would dim from then on, one-third of the day would lose their light, and so would the night.

This was the power of God. So powerful that God could naturally regard billions of people as dust and ants.

The God of war was the king of these dust and ants.

The King held the scepter and stood opposite the sea of mercury, blood falling from his cloak. The throne of bones behind him no longer existed, turning into an army of tens of millions of skeletons, following the King in the rapids high in the sky. Authority turned into a sword in the King’s hands, and he did not look back behind him.

“So this is how the throne of bones came about.”

Theolde looked at the thousands of troops behind the King.

“These are the bones of all my people.”

The King said softly.

Under the throne were piles of bones, which were mountains of corpses and seas of blood that the monarch had stepped on. But the throne itself also consisted of bones, which were all his deceased people. They used their bones to build an unprecedented glorious throne for their monarch. Because of this, a monarch should do everything for his people and fight to the end.

“It’s a wonderful origin.” Theolde said, “It’s a pity that your authority had been divided long ago. You remember where your throne comes from, but people easily forget their origins.”

Human life span was too short. It was like a mayfly that lives and dies instantly when in the face of time. It was so short that it was difficult for them to remember many things. The things that their ancestors gained over successive generations of sacrifice were easily forgotten by them.

The Rose family, the genius alchemists… these first human warriors, they tried their best to bring the legendary era to an end and the gods to withdraw from the stage of history. But just a few hundred years later, some people here forgot the humiliation of being slaves of the gods, and prostrated themselves in front of the wooden idols for power and profit. With the rise of the Holy Court, and afterwards when the Black Death swept across the Western Continent in 400 AD, people rushed to welcome the Holy Lord to this land. 

In the past, they were forced to kneel before God, but later they took the initiative to kneel before God.

After the “War of Divine Punishment” thousands of years ago, Legrand, the last strong and cohesive nation without faith, collapsed and the Rose family was almost destroyed. From that moment on, divine authority began to override royal authority. From the moment the king needed to be crowned by God, “royal authority” began to be fatally weakened.

“If Legrand was given another hundred years, maybe you would truly recover.” The seven stars beside Theolde slowly rose into the sky, “But now, you see, the ones who killed you are the ones you want to protect.”

The seven stars fell like fire, hitting the King and the Kingdom of Bones he commanded.

The Kingdom of Bones opposite the mercury sea shook. Pieces of bones were burned in the fire, and twisted dark cracks spread out in all directions with the King as the center. Blood fell down the King’s hand holding the scepter, and as Theolde said, he was weak.

“Maybe it would be like that in the end.”

The King held the scepter like a sword.

“But not now.”

With a crisp buzzing sound, the seven big stars that fell on the Kingdom of Bones were suddenly lifted up out of thin air, and then turned into seven raging red fires, shooting towards the silver sea around Theolde with even more terrifying power than when they came. Every time a ball of fire made of stars fell, there were countless cracks in the tower of the Kingdom of God.

The mercury sea was the embodiment of the Kingdom of God controlled by Theolde in this war, and the twelve towers were its cornerstones. Just as the Kingdom of Bones was the embodiment of the mortal kingdom led by the King. As the fire fell one after another, the mercury sea rolled up in huge waves.

Theolde grasped the double-edged holy sword and darted forward.

The bone scepter and the holy sword collided in an instant.

The night and stars seemed to be distorted for a moment, and the broken bones and splashing mercury turned into a cold and pale rain. The instant the King and Theolde connected it caused turmoil in the world. The collision of sword and scepter from both sides triggered an explosion of endless thunder, and their faces were illuminated by the cold light of lightning.

“Why do you think——”

A cold, vague smile appeared on the King’s lips.

“The divine authority has not been weakened?”

Those broken bones turned into countless short and sharp arrows, all over the sky, everywhere and anywhere. In the sound of the King’s words, a torrential rain of bone arrows fell towards the mercury sea, and every arrow stirred turmoil.

In the harsh and sharp piercing sound, the King and Theolde flew back at the same time. The wave of mercury swept over, crushing thousands of bone arrows into falling dust. Theolde waved his hand, and one-third of the sun, moon, and stars that were originally suspended quietly on the water rose into the sky.

The King’s pupils reflected the light from the dome, which was like the sky overturning, neither dodging nor avoiding it.

The sound of the bronze bell rang loudly again.

………………

The bells resounded throughout the land of Legrand.

Since the war began, Legrand’s parliament had been in a state of perpetually being held. When the knights stepped onto the battlefield, another invisible battle was also fiercely being fought. And this battle came to a victorious conclusion today.

At zero o’clock when this day met the new day, the bells of all the churches in Legrand were rung at the same moment. Every city, every town, every village ushered in a drastic change at this moment——the Legrand State Church was officially established. At the same time, after three months of discussion in the Legrand Parliament, the “Supreme Royal Authority Act” that was finally passed with almost unanimous votes came into effect at this moment.

The state religion was established and the Supreme Royal Authority Act came into effect.

The bell announced that from now on, Legrand’s divine power would be subordinated to the rule of the king.

In the sound of the new era bell that awakened the entire Legrand Empire, the Queen of Kriya and the bards were running in every city in the southeast of Legrand. During this period, as every fallen city was recovered, the Kriyan bards and scholars could be found throughout the southeast.

The papers covered with words were blown to every corner by the wind.

“…As human beings, we have the right to think and reason for ourselves

As human beings, we have the right to pursue freedom and happiness

As human beings, we have the right to defend dignity and honor

As human beings, we have the right to explore truth and science

As human beings, we have the right to realize value and exist…”

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

This was the first declaration belonging to man in history from ancient times to the present. Legrand scholars named it the “Humanistic Declaration”. This was the first time that human beings have declared to the heaven, earth and gods that they were born as human beings and have independent and equal rights in this way.

The world of man, the kingdom of man, the history of man.

“Because——”

The white-haired old scholar ran and shouted in the cold wind.

“We are living people!”

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In Yoringshire City, Earl Wally was in the room on the tower. He looked at the glorious battlefield and put his hand on the badge of the Hanging Sword on his chest.

In the legendary era, human beings had to gather together to survive because of their own insignificance, and the original concept of “country” was born. So the “kingship”, the authority pursued by the gods, was born in the first country. The first monarch in the world was the authority itself, just as the names of the gods point to their corresponding authority.

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

The gods were fighting for the authority of the “kingship”, but they did not expect that the authority that overcame everything in the world would eventually be born among the most humble of races.

After the Twilight War, the gods buried their bones. In that war, the King suffered betrayal and fell, but he did not truly die. After the end of the legendary era, the original human kingdom, the Legrand Empire, stood firm on the earth thanks to the efforts of the Rose family. The Holy Lord could tamper with history and place himself in the past, present and future in order to be resurrected. As the personification of the authority “kingship”, the King could naturally reappear on earth after Legrand entered the bud of national consciousness and monarchy recovered in the same way. 

That time was a thousand years.

A thousand years have passed, and faith could no longer suppress the sparks of thought. The dawn of humanity flashed across the long river of history, and commercial ships traveled across the sea. Generations of descendants of the Rose family have revitalized a fragmented country. When William III unified the thirty-six states and the Legrand Empire once again formed a unified empire, the royal power recovered.

The King was born again on the earth on the night of Saint Val’s death.

He was born to be a king.

From that moment on, the gears of fate began to turn.

Earl Wally opened the box he brought and took out the most important thing inside.

The prophecy tablets of the Lower El.

“After a thousand years, the earth will be turned over like a pottery jar, the lowly will come on top, and the humble will dominate the cemetery… the birthplace of the gods will no longer exist.” He read out the prophecy on it, the latest interpretation of a phrase on the back of the clay tablet, “The reversal of top and bottom, a millennium repeated, eternal and never ending.”

The unknown wise man from a thousand years ago made a prophecy that had been proven by history.

A thousand years ago, the gods on the earth were high and lofty, like riding the clouds, while mortals were suppressed at the bottom, like slaves and ants. Lowly and insignificant. However, a thousand years have passed, and the gods now slept forever in the darkness. The gods have become chess pieces, and mortals dominate the world on top of their bones. When the bottom reached the top, the world changed drastically.

The world and history were turbulent and never-ending in such changes.

This was true a thousand years ago, and it was true a thousand years later.

………………

Hell, Blackstone Royal City.

The millenium war ended at the moment when the angels fell. In the dark red sky, the Law sealed all the cracks. Mela walked in the dead blackstone castle, and the wind flowed through the long corridors, carrying the sound of string instruments from the main hall.

The Devil sat in front of the throne of bones, with the golden harp in his hand that appeared on the night the King was met with assassination. His pale fingers plucked the strings, playing an elegant and low melody. The melody was like the sound of billions of angels dying, and like billions of ghosts snickering, half happy and half sad.

“Let’s talk about the death of the emperor, my dear.”

He sang in a low voice, playing with the strings with his pale fingers. The moonlight only illuminated half of his face, while the other half was hidden in the darkness.

“Some were deposed, and some were killed in war.

Some were haunted to death by the ghosts of their usurped

Some were poisoned by their wives, some were killed in their sleep

They were all killed——”

The ancient opera was still like a poisonous snake swimming in the dark night, gorgeous, cold, and full of mockery and malice towards the world and mankind. There was a sarcastic smile on the Devil’s pale face. He was the first Devil in the evil and chaotic realm of hell. He never liked those stupid humans who couldn’t always tell who was protecting them and who was cannibalizing them——prostrating to wooden idols while cursing loudly at the monarch who protected them.

How stupid they were, how ridiculously stupid.

So why should his monarch spend all his energy on these people again? His lord belonged in hell.

Across time and space, he played a small sleight of hand when he signed a contract with the King again. He wrote a “destiny” about the future, trying to guide the King to the road of death before the arrival of the Millennium Kingdom, so that he could lead his Majesty back to hell.

With the bone scepter given to him by the King, he could intervene in the fate of the King when his soul first returned and had not yet completely marked the world. But it was a pity that even after a thousand years, his Majesty was still the same as before. The King rescued the Duke of Buckingham, quelled the rebellion, and blocked the Black Death——exactly as before, brilliant and decisive.

His loophole failed.

The Millennium Kingdom opened, and the King and the world were inseparable.

He had no choice but to serve his monarch with all his heart. His Majesty would eventually return to hell after everything was over.

A King had nothing but his country.

And all emperors would die.

“…death was binding the king

In the empty crown on the temple built its court.”

This was the fate of a king.

The King standing at the ends of the world had traveled thousands of miles for his people and country, and he was exhausted. The Devil saw his end at a glance. He was the “kingship” authority itself, a monarch born in response to people’s prayers and history. There would always be a day when people no longer needed “kingship”, and the moment when that day came was the death of the King.

He didn’t know what his fate was, so he could do whatever it took to save his people. When he knew the future, he would no longer do as such.

The Devil thought.

So the Devil spoke, hiding malice and ridicule, and asked:

“As a devil, I would like to remind you with my rare kindness, do you understand the outcome of the contract you are about to sign?”

“I will never be saved, I will never find peace, I will be abandoned by the world.”

The monarch replied calmly.

——He already knew what his fate was.

Why would someone know that their fate was so tragic, but still be able to walk towards it so calm and composed? A soul that carried such a heavy destiny and countless sufferings but was always peaceful was beautiful enough to make all hell creatures covet it.

He leaned over and smiled.

“Then, in exchange, I will be loyal to you. And the moment you are abandoned, your soul belongs to me.”

“Fine.”

That was the only condition of the contract.

The Devil put down his harp, stood up, pulled out the dragon bone sword from the throne, and began to carve out an ancient and complicated formation with the bone throne as the center. The bloodkin servants came in with thick blood, and the blood was poured into those lines. The bloody formation surrounding the throne was like the fate of the King himself.

A person who was a king would never have peace.

………………

The earth was soaked with blood and fire, and stars streaked across the sky, announcing this extraordinary moment.

“I’ve been thinking about my meeting with you,” Theolde said. “It will be the most stunning moment of this era.”

The wind blew his white robe, and his demeanor was not at all hostile. Instead, as he said, he crossed the Abyss Strait and led thousands of troops just for this destined meeting that was to be the most exciting moment of the era. It didn’t matter how many bones and seas of blood there were in the middle.

The alchemical chariots of the twelve moving fortresses changed their shapes again and became tall towers rising from the ground. This was no longer within the scope of alchemy, but the power of God. According to legend, God had twelve towers that were used to fix the heavens. He used these twelve towers as the cornerstones to establish His kingdom.

Theolde brought not only twelve siege chariots, but twelve towers of the Kingdom of God.

He was now the only god in the world.

Everyone on the battlefield could feel this terrible change. The towers rose from the ground, and the world suddenly became extremely small. Although the Pope standing in front of the towers looked like a mortal, he was as majestic as heaven and earth, making people want to prostrate themselves in submission. The Holy Army had already fallen to their knees, while Legrand’s troops gathered behind the King.

The world had become a stage, and there were only two people who decided the ending to be played out on this stage.

“The reversal of top and bottom, a millennium repeated, eternal and never ending. They will abandon you, just like the prophecy said that the earth will turn upside down, the slaves at the bottom will become the masters, and you will die because of this.” The twelve divine towers behind Theolde burst into bright light, crisscrossing through the sky, “I didn’t expect that even so, you would still protect this country and fight for it——don’t you think it’s sad?”

“Then let them abandon me,” the King replied sternly, “then let me die.”

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

The fire was blazing and the wind was roaring. Fiery fire soared into the sky like a striking snake, and the sound of the bronze bell sounded loudly in an instant. Amidst the sound of the bell, the throne of bones floated in the sky.

A King who was born to protect his people would never become an evil dragon that slaughtered his people.

A dragon slayer would always be a dragon slayer!

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According to the rules of chess, “rooks” could move on horizontal and vertical lines without any limit on the number of moves, but they could not jump over pieces except when participating with the king when castling. This meant that the chariot had only one mission on the battlefield, which was to crush the enemy with a thunderous momentum. All those who stood in the way would be crushed.

Twelve siege chariots modified by alchemy rolled over the earth like giant beasts, and the moat in front of the city wall had already been piled flat with corpses and sand and gravel. Along the predetermined route, they hit the city wall hard, with a loud rumbling sound, and the power they exerted was equivalent to hundreds of conventional siege cones hitting at the same time.

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

The city wall lost its thickness at this time.

Stones flew up in sparks and scattered in all directions. Twelve mobile war fortresses tore a hole in the solid defense line of Yoringshire City for the first time. The knights of the Holy Army who followed behind cheered, shouted, and roared loudly. They were so excited that some of them got too close and were even smashed into pieces by the collapsing tower.

The fire was blazing, and the soldiers followed the fortress-like chariots and swarmed up, eager to enter the city of Yoringshire that symbolizes victory and start killing.

The chariots charged into the city, but suddenly fell into a deep pit that had been dug behind the city wall. Immediately afterwards, iron arrows came down like a rainstorm. In the light of the fire, the Holy Army saw that behind the city wall that the alchemical chariots had crashed into, Legrand’s soldiers were fully armed, and longbowmen were lying on the eaves, shooting at the Holy Army entering the city from all directions.

“Kill!”

Sisian had put on his armor and was now directing the soldiers to charge in.

The skeleton war horses pulled the steel fortress and jumped out of the pit. An ordinary chariot would have lost its use at this time. However, the chariots created by alchemy could not be blocked by ordinary traps. With the alchemical chariots bearing the main firepower from the front, the Holy Army successfully charged in.

The weapons clashed and the sound of fighting was deafening.

But it was not just from the front battlefield!

The same deafening sound of fighting sounded from their left side and rear wing at the same time.

The fire was raging from the direction of their camp. Sisian turned his head in shock and saw countless war horses galloping back and forth in the firelight behind them. When they attacked Yoringshire City, their rear wing and left wing were also attacked at the same time. The Holy Army had always placed itself in the position of the attacker, with all its elite main forces placed at the front of the siege army, leaving its back and flanks defenseless.

If this was a frontal battle, they would certainly not be so rash.

But this was a siege!

They were the attacking party. Legrand was the one huddled in the city. They didn’t need to defend at all. They only needed to penetrate Legrand’s shield like an arrow. As a defender of the city, what could Legrand use to attack them? As soon as they opened the city gate, the Holy Army would immediately swarm in! What did they use to attack the Holy Army? How could it be possible to sneak around their backs and launch an attack without anyone noticing?

Was it possible that these Legrand troops grew wings overnight, flew out of the city wall, and landed behind them?

The unsuspecting follow-up troops quickly collapsed under the surprise attack. The soldiers attacking the city in front heard the noise from the rear and didn’t know what was going on. They all wanted to change their direction. Except for the army dominated by the Knights Templar, the rest of the Holy Army, which was already in disarray, was in chaos because of this incident. For a moment, the knights didn’t know whether to continue attacking or to turn back and defend.

No one understood how Legrand’s army, which was supposed to be trapped in the city, suddenly appeared behind them.

“Border Army!”

While Sisian commanded the soldiers to withdraw from the city immediately, he quickly surveyed the entire battle situation.

There were two Legrand armies in total, and one attacked their rear army, turning the camp with only a few sick and wounded soldiers into a sea of flames. While the other force came from the northeast and launched an attack on their weaker left wing. At this time, it had torn the left wing army that was caught off guard into pieces. This second force was an elite cavalry.

To the northeast was the section of the city that the Border Army was responsible for.

Where the first force came from was currently unknown, but the cavalry attacking on the left must pass through the defense of the Holy Army of the Border. If Legrand started from the northeastern city gate and took a detour, the border troops could not be completely unaware——unless they had switched sides.

Sisian’s heart suddenly sank.

Rolling stones were pushed down from both sides of the city wall where the alchemical chariots crashed, and the large rumbling sounds were heard continuously, creating obstacles for the knights entering the city to exit. The battlefield was in chaos. Sisian wanted to turn around to stop the cavalry that was piercing in from their left side like a sharp sword. Then he saw a cavalry from the Holy Army coming forward and blocking the opponent’s unscrupulous pace.

Theolde had led the Knights Templar to intercept the army.

The fire ignited the darkness of the night, and in the firelight, two cavalrymen faced each other.

………………

The sound of iron arrows cutting the air, the sound of throats being pierced by arrows, the sound of blood flying, the crackling of grain burning in the fire.

The world was booming, life was passing quickly, and death was in an instant. General Johan calmly directed the soldiers to attack the scattered and weak rear of the Holy Army. In order to make the siege smoother, the rear wing of the Holy Army was composed of some weak and aging troops, including some cavalrymen who had lost their horses. This arrangement became convenient for General Johan who finally arrived on the battlefield.

After previously cutting off the Holy Army’s transportation lines, General Johan led his army north to meet up with the Iron Rose Cavalry. Logically speaking, General Johan should now be retaking the occupied cities in the southeast of Legrand, but instead he appeared here.

The continuous news of victory in the Southeast was true.

But it was not obtained by General JohAn and the Iron Rose Cavalry as the news said.

Half a month ago, the army of Ingres State quietly passed through the fortress in the Kriya Mountains and arrived on the southeast coast, taking over from General Johan and the Iron Rose Cavalry. They put on the colors of the Iron Rose Cavalry and carried the dark red royal flag, creating the illusion that the two armies were still fighting in the southeast of Legrand. Relying on the previous sacrifice of Bubas City and the tenacious defense of Kriya State, this time the Holy Army failed to invade deeply into the western part of Legrand, so the forces of Ingres State in the southwest remained basically intact. The speed with which they regained their lost ground was no less than that of the Iron Rose Cavalry and the army commanded by General Johan.

During this period of time, Yoringshire City remained on defense, and did not send troops to harass the enemy even at night. The continuous victory reports in the southeast also served as a cover-up. The Holy Army did not realize that Legrand already had a capable force that could deploy reinforcements.

After changing the flags and armor, the army led by General Johan merged with the Iron Rose Cavalry, crossed the Doma River, moved along the west bank that had not been invaded by the Holy Army, and bypassed the city of Collin, which was controlled by the Holy Army. Finally, they arrived near Yoringshire City two days before the battle and finally entered the battlefield after the decisive battle started.

Kriya’s archers and the Iron Rose Cavalry traveled together, and the two sides had established an initial tacit understanding during this period of battle. Before the cavalry charged, Kriyan archers took the lead in shooting from the left and right sides, opening a hole for the cavalry in advance. Then the cavalry rolled in, widening the crack.

Lives were being harvested quickly. General Johan observed the entire battlefield while killing the enemies in his path.

He looked toward the northeast of the battlefield.

There was the royal army led by the King himself.

This was a decisive battle, and they used offense instead of defense.

Therefore, they could only win and not fail.

……………………

The dark red royal flag rolled up in the flames of war, like a surging sea of blood. Opposite it was the cross flag, which was illuminated in orange.

It stood to reason that even if all the royal troops in Yoringshire City were sent out, they would still be unable to compete with the Holy Army in numbers. However, at this time, on the side of King Legrand’s army, the cavalry was as thick as a forest of trees.

Theolde, wearing a white robe and leading the Knights Templar, suddenly smiled when he looked at General Velarion standing opposite in the firelight.

“Fate is such a mockery.”

His tone was relaxed, without any anger at being betrayed.

“We once believed that you could lead us to salvation, so we followed you here, but now we find that you cannot do it.”

General Velarion bowed slightly, showing no shame as a traitor.

The border states were closer to the far north icefield and farther away from the Holy Spirit Bay and the Holy Court. The influence of the Holy Court had not been as deep as it was in the Hopeless Inner Sea and Bressi. This time, the reason why the border countries participated in the Holy Army movement was more importantly to open their own sea routes and gain more benefits from Legrand.

Restricted by harsh natural conditions, it was difficult for the border countries to develop agriculture. However, in terms of commerce, it was actually also difficult for them to compete with the Hopeless Inner Sea and Abyss Strait Alliance, which was closer to the Holy See. Before that, when they used food as a bargaining chip in the power struggle it was based on these past disputes. But Theolde ruined their plans by causing the earth to grow wheat overnight.

After witnessing the scene in which Theolde performed a miracle to bring the soldiers out of despair, Velarion clearly understood that they were traveling with a pure politician and emperor, and not like those past popes who only had prestige but no strategic means.

He had no choice but to start thinking about other routes.

Once Pope Theolde succeeded, how would he deal with the border countries who wanted to seize dominance in the war? No emperor could tolerate this. And if Legrand was really destroyed and Pope Theolde was able to revive the Holy Empire, then they would completely lose the opportunity to rise and develop. In this war, the Holy Army of the Sea, which had participated the most, was likely to be one of the biggest beneficiaries. Then, how would they compete with the Hopeless Inner Sea Alliance and the Abyss Strait Alliance, which were closely related to the Holy Empire?

However, what really made Velarion make up his mind was the news from Legrand.

After the border troops arrived on the battlefield, they did not suffer too many attacks from Legrand, nor did they cause too much damage to Legrand. The hatred between the two sides was not as irreconcilable as that between the Holy Army of the Holy Land and the Holy Army of the Sea. Before the siege was decided, he received a secret message from Legrand.

Ferri III had led his army to conquer the capital of the Holy Empire, and the news was blocked by Theolde.

The news from Legrand might not be true. But if Theolde could block the news once, he could block the news a second time. The Holy City could be destroyed, and the capital could also be captured by Ferri III.

Destiny gave the border troops different choices:

If they supported Legrand, then after the destruction of the Holy Empire and Theolde, the Hopeless Inner Sea and Abyss Strait countries that rely on the Holy See to gain a commercial competitive advantage would no longer be able to compete with them. Without the impact of the Holy See’s regulations on commerce, their fleets would no longer need to travel under heavy chains. After being severely damaged, Legrand and Bressi would also be in a long recovery period and would find it difficult to expand to the border.

Velarion believed their success rate was high.

If Legrand’s news was true, the only military forces left in Theolde’s hands were all in Yoringshire City now. So long as the Knights Templar were destroyed in this battle, Theolde and the Holy Empire would become history. And even if Legrand’s news was to trick them into joining forces with them, so long as Theolde and the other Holy Armies were defeated here, the Holy Empire would still perish soon.

After intense discussions, the senior leaders of the Border Army finally agreed to Velarion’s choice.

On this table of interests, there were no eternal friends and enemies.

Everyone here was a lamb, everyone here was a wolf.

“I should have killed you directly.”

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

Theolde ignored Velarion and looked directly at the young monarch who had been baptized by Theolde himself back then.

“I’m only one step away from what I want most.”

The King did not speak. He faced him from a distance. The firelight illuminated his expressionless face as he stood in front of all the troops.

In this world, there was no Zhu Chi and no Pureland.

But just the King.

He was the “kingship” authority itself, he was the “King”!

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Facing spirits, bonfire and food, the low morale of the Holy Army was finally cheered up again. After witnessing Pope Theolde making wheat grow out of thin air, almost everyone firmly believed that he was the incarnation of God in the human world. Theolde delivered a speech on the spot.

He attributed the occupation of the Holy City of Holy Spirit Bay by a group of heretical barbarians as the most terrifying warning before the arrival of the Doomsday Judgment, saying that this was a signal that the world was coming to an end and that the day of the Last Judgment was coming. However, God was merciful. Although He was saddened by the people’s misdeeds, He was still willing to give His believers a chance to be saved, so He made food grow from the barren earth.

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This was God’s last chance for mercy and giving.

“…The Holy City fell because we, the brothers gathered here, failed to be devout. This is our sin. If we want to be saved, we must put aside the cowardice and hatred in our hearts and work together to conquer the country of heresy. Please pick up our swords and don’t let the poisonous fog of evil block our way. Remember, God bless us.”

Under such a highly inflammatory speech, the Holy Army was not only afraid of the disaster of the destruction of the Holy City, but also immersed in the miracles shown by Theolde, and for a time bravely and fearlessly devoted themselves to the “last salvation”, launching a powerful attack on Yoringshire City.

General Velarion, the commander of the Border Army, looked at this change and was both angry and afraid of Theolde’s power. He could only watch as his control over the army was taken away by the Pope. Theolde had completely become the supreme commander of the three armies, and the Holy Army could be easily directed by his hands.

After Pope Theolde took over the supreme command of the army, the results he achieved further confirmed what he said that God was still blessing the world. Prior to this, the Holy Army had repeatedly been firmly resisted outside the city wall by Legrand’s multiple defensive measures. When morale was at its lowest, it was even difficult to approach the fire range of the opponent’s tower.

But under Theolde’s command, they were able to briefly cross the opponent’s moat and have their military engineers dig trenches under the tower. Although, soon, the Legrandians in the city dug trenches in reverse to curb their movements. But compared with before, this was already a better start.

“Have our soldiers speed up the attack on Tower 2 to cover the actions under Tower 7.”

In the command post, Theolde was giving orders in an orderly manner.

Sisian silently wrote down each of his orders.

Over the past few days, he had witnessed with his own eyes the Holy Army’s fierce attack on Yoringshire City without fear of death, and finally understood why Theolde sealed the news so tightly after receiving the news of the destruction of the Holy Court. Before the “Harvest Miracle”, the internal conflicts of the Holy Army had been becoming more and more intense. The knights had already lost their initial enthusiasm due to the long war, and the Border Army had other intentions as well. Theolde wanted to use the destruction of the Holy City and the miracle to make the Holy Army no longer have a way out.

But, was Theolde really helpless against what happened to the Holy City?

Sisian was a little confused. It was true that he didn’t like the old and dusty elders of the Holy Court, but as a believer who grew up in the Holy City, he still had some special feelings for the Holy City. And he had known Theolde for so many years, thus he could vaguely sense the shadow of his old friend’s hand in these sudden changes.

What role did Theolde play?

Sisian suddenly realized that he seemed to have never really understood Theolde. Don’t know since when, Theolde had become farther and farther away from him, becoming someone even more respectable and…fearful.

He only understood one thing.

Now, Theolde was no longer the Pope of the Holy See, but the Emperor of the Holy Empire.

“It’s almost time to attack.”

Theolde looked at the map and said in an appreciative tone.

……………………

“In less than three days, they will launch an attack with all their strength.”

The King walked quickly on the top of the city wall, inspecting the towers. General Moore fearfully followed the King with his shield.

The commanding officers strongly disapproved of the King personally coming to the city wall to command, although the city of Yoringshire was on the defensive at this time and it was not as dangerous as the frontal battlefield. But the city wall was still not a safe zone. The huge stones thrown by trebuchets that hit the city wall create flying rubble and collapsed tower walls that often injure the soldiers defending the city. In addition, stray arrows could also injure people’s lives at any time.

But after several attacks and defenses, the officers had no choice but to accept the King coming to the city wall to take command.

The Holy Army’s offensive changed from the past, becoming fierce and powerful, but also cunning and changeable. The apparent attack on a certain section of the city wall was actually to cover up the destruction of another tower. It felt like the other side’s army suddenly had a different commanding brain. If the King had not decisively accepted the command personally, keenly discerned the opponent’s true goal, and contained it in advance, their defense circle at this time would have been torn open.

On the other hand, the King personally coming to the city wall to command the battle greatly boosted the morale of the soldiers defending the city.

A large part of the soldiers guarding the city had followed the King in the Battle of Douro City, and they still remembered the King’s legendary performance and the souls of heroic knights summoned in the battle. They passed it down by word of mouth and almost regarded the King as another kind of spiritual faith. The faith that the King was with them even overcame the impact of the miracles performed by Theolde outside the city.

At this time, anyone could be missing, but the King could not be missing.

General Moore had no choice but to take charge of the King’s security, and after he was temporarily appointed as the King’s guard, a group of officers practically took turns coming to talk to him. Basically the words had only one meaning: “Even if you die, His Majesty’s safety must be guaranteed.”

In the short period of time he defended the city, General Moore felt that he had suddenly aged ten years. His heart was rising and falling due to the accidents that occurred from time to time on the battlefield. It seemed that he might become a patient of those lunatics at any time due to heart problems.

——It was worth mentioning that during this period, there were more and more wounded, and the battlefield situation became more and more critical. They had no time to move the soldiers from the city wall to the monastery in the city, and the monastery as a temporary hospital could no longer accommodate such a large number of wounded. For this reason, the director of the Institute of Pathology, pharmacist Duna, simply led a team of medical staff to climb the city wall.

At present, researchers wearing white robes that have turned gray from dust could be seen walking quickly on the city wall. In this case, the lightly wounded must be put back on the battlefield immediately after receiving simple medical treatment.

Everyone knew that this was the moment that determined the outcome of the entire war.

They had already walked such a long and difficult road. Even if they break every bone in their body, they could not fall down at this time.

“Three days? All-out attack?”

Moore breathed a sigh of relief at first, but then quickly took another sharp breath.

As time passed and the war reached a stalemate, the food reserves in the city were also rapidly depleted. Quota allocation could only shorten the time until the stored grain was exhausted, but it could not increase the stored grain. Once the food was completely exhausted and the frontlines were tightening, the confidence of the people in the city would inevitably plummet. This was by no means good news for Legrand.

It could be said that a battle that determined victory or defeat was destined to be faced by both sides.

However, the full-scale offensive of the Holy Army would occur within three days, and this amount of time was still too urgent to be imagined.

“Bressi is attacking the old capital, and winter is approaching.”

The King answered briefly.

The Holy Army could not stay in Legrand for too long. For the Holy Army, it was best for the war to end in late summer or early autumn, but now the war had been forcefully dragged until the cold winter was approaching.

The current in the Abyss Strait would turn direction within a week.

If Theolde’s all-out attack could win, then he would ride the first turning ocean current with unprecedented glory and prestige, return to Bressi from the west coast of the Abyss Strait, and rush to back to the Holy Empire before Ferri III could capture the capital, quell the war within the empire and consolidate the crumbling Holy Empire.

Time was extremely tight for Theolde.

The sky gradually darkened, the setting sun spread over the earth, and the city above and below was soaked with the scent of blood.

The King walked into the tower in the northwest corner, took the bow from the soldier, and shot an arrow with a secret message tied to it outside the city. The longbowmen who witnessed the King’s arrow had to admire their Majesty. Even if he was already an experienced longbowman in Legrand, he could not shoot such a precise and straight arrow——and even compared with those who were known as “ghosts”, the Kriyan archers, the King was definitely outstanding.

“All-out attack?”

The King returned the longbow to the archer. He looked at the smoke and flames of war outside the city through the archery hole, and whispered to himself amidst the rumbling sounds.

“Then come.”

Burning stone bullets streaked across the sky, and the flickering flames of war illuminated the King’s eyes.

Like fire burning ice.

…………………………

It was daybreak then nightfall, and the Holy Army’s offensive slowed down a bit on the second day.

Theolde walked past the iron carriages. These carriages have been moving with the Holy Army, and their speed was no slower than the agile light cavalry during the march. They were quite mysterious and low-key, and had been ignored by people before. It was only at this moment that Theolde let them show their ferocious fangs.

In the light of the torch, these iron carriages shone, the black iron bodies carrying a fierce aura. As the formations lit up one after another, the chariot transformed on the spot and turned into a mobile war fortress. The iron armor spread and covered the war horses pulling the carriage. The war horses let out shrill whinnies, at the same time iron bone thorns were deeply embedded in the flesh of the war horses. In the blink of an eye, all of these tall and muscular horses had their flesh and blood absorbed, turning into skeleton horses armed with iron armor.

The iron carriages were covered with a bloody hue.

Like Legrand’s dragon-winged battleships, these iron carriages were also relics of alchemy!

In the legendary era, the most elite genius alchemists stood together with the Rose family. However, there was still a part of the alchemical arts that had been passed down to the hands of the Holy Court. The Ancient Holy Fire and the Throne of God Pier were created based on these alchemical techniques that were secretly preserved by the Holy Court.

Theolde hid these chariots and did not let them onto the battlefield until today. They were the “rooks” that would burst out in this chess game, and destroy everything.

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“All war songs have their final moment, and all heroes have their bones buried.”

Theolde read softly.

The tone was light, like chanting an elegy.

He took the torch from Sisian.

“Siege the city.”

The alchemical chariots crushed the earth, making a terrifying rumble. The twelve chariots turned into twelve mobile fortresses, roaring towards the city wall of Yoringshire under the night.

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“The Council of Elders have not contacted us for a while.”

Sisian said tentatively.

He hoped that his speculation was wrong, but the facts seemed to be moving in a direction that he couldn’t understand.

Theolde put down the quill in his hand: “How many days of food rations do we have left?”

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He avoided the subject. Sisian thought sadly and replied: “The Border Army can still last for a week, but the rest…we can no longer provide wheat and eggs for our soldiers. The officers are discussing what to do next, Your Majesty.”

“Let’s go and listen to what our gentlemen have to say.”

Theolde said calmly.

In the combat command room of the Holy Army, the commander of the Border Army, General Velarion, a typical northerner of the Abyss Strait, was arguing angrily with the officers of the Sea Army. Their voices were so loud that they could be heard a hundred meters away. The officers of the Sea Army accused the Border Army of embezzling supplies.

“Holy Lord, who doesn’t know what goes on with the border caravans? Ten barrels of red wine from departure to arrival, we can thank God if there is still one barrel left!”

“Then I can also swear in the name of the Holy Lord, if one drop of the nine barrels of red wine entered our mouths, we will go to hell immediately!” General Velarion roared like a lion, his neck flushed red as he breathed and pressed his hands heavily on the table, “We bypassed the rapids of the North Sea and risked being swallowed by the giant whale to help you transport eggs and oats from the abyss to this damn Legrand. But now, you actually accuse us of not being diligent enough? Do you want us to block the waterway in the city of Yoringshire, then turn around and start a war against Bressi to seize the port? Why don’t you expect us to make bulls give birth and iron stones blossom?”

“Our soldiers have tried to find edible seeds from the dung pile, but you still have oats to feed your officers’ horses.” The Sea Army officer was angry, and the brawling soldiers were his men, “If you have enough food to feed horses, then since we are allies, you shouldn’t just watch your allies starve to death.”

“We are allies, but there is no law or code that stipulates that we should be the nanny of our allies.” General Velarion shot back, he asked harshly, “Do you still need us to feed milk into your mouths?”

“The Holy Lord teaches us to be caring, gentlemen.”

The curtain of the tent was lifted, and Pope Theolde came in, his voice composed and calm.

Everyone put aside their arguments and stood up to salute Theolde.

General Velarion found that when Pope Theolde appeared, the tense atmosphere he had painstakingly created was shattered. He felt a little uneasy, and spoke before the Sea Army officers: “It’s not that the border countries don’t want to lend a helping hand to allies who are as close as brothers, but you know that the civilians in our border nations are more unruly by nature. If they see us sharing their food with others, I’m worried something will happen.”

A cunning fox who took advantage of others’ circumstances.

The officers of the Sea Army cursed loudly in their heads. They finally understood what the Border Army was trying to do with this pretentious attitude.

The Border Army was the latest among the three holy armies to set foot on the battlefield, and it had also been prepared for the longest time. They had only been involved in the war for a short period of time, and putting aside whether the grain from Bressi was actually misappropriated by them, simply based on the grain reserves prepared by the border countries, they should have plenty of grain in their hands at this time——at least compared with the other Holy Armies they were much better off.

The reason they were making such a big fuss was because they wanted to bargain with the Pope and everyone.

If the news from the Legrandians was correct, then the Holy See of Holy Spirit Bay was now destroyed. After the powerful Holy Empire lost the heart of Holy Spirit Bay, as well as being hit hard by Ferri III, its glory disappeared like a flash. The Hopeless Inner Sea Alliance and the Alliance of Abyss Strait city-states have been weakened by the battle in the southeast. Legrand was an enemy of the world. Although it had not been defeated so far, it had also been deeply eroded by the war and its vitality had been severely damaged.

All the powerful countries and forces in this world have exhausted their strength in this war to the point of damaging their foundations, and their heroes exhausted.

This was an opportunity for the border countries to rise.

The food in their hands was their confidence, and they wanted to compete for the dominance of this war.

These damn, greedy guys.

“As long as you don’t forget the original intention of this war, the Holy Lord will protect us and achieve final victory.”

Theolde replied.

“Piety will not fill the bellies of our soldiers.”

General Velarion said as he glanced at the officers of the Sea Army.

“Without food, our soldiers have no way to fight.” After many thoughts flashed by, the officers of the Sea Army spoke reluctantly. No one wanted this war to end now, especially since they only needed to capture Yoringshire to decide the final victory.

“God protects us with His miracles.”

“Does the miracle include giving us food?” General Velarion couldn’t help but ask a bit harshly. He was thinking about the news he got from the Legrandians. The Holy See was destroyed, and the situation of the Holy Empire was not much better. This was truly a God-given opportunity, and what else could a pope do if he lost his holy city?

“Of course.”

Theolde replied calmly.

At first, no one understood what he meant, but soon, they realized what Theolde was referring to, and everyone looked at him with astonishment on their faces.

……………………

“On that barren land, people are thirsty, hungry, and dying. So God made wheat grow from the ground, turned the water in the river into fine wine, and herded pure lambs to the people. He is as generous and kind as a father, but He also displayed such majestic wonders.”

Earl Wally accompanied the King and stood on the highest tower of the castle. He looked at what was happening outside the city through the witches’ eyeglasses and whispered the words in the holy book.

That was an ancient tale in the holy book. It told the story of God telling His glory among all nations and His miracles among all peoples. God established His authority and image through the miracles He created, and these miracles accumulated into people’s impression of God. Now, the miracles described in the holy book were happening again.

On the vast land outside Yoringshire City, wheat violated the season and grew out of the soil again. The Holy Army fetched water from the tributary of Doma. The water was poured into buckets and immediately turned into mellow red wine. Everything that happened outside the city of Yoringshire was just like what was told in the holy book. Theolde, wearing the papal tiara, walked across the plain. Wherever he went, the soldiers all knelt down and prostrated to him, already regarding him as the incarnation of God.

“What exactly is going on?”

Earl Wally couldn’t help but murmur to himself.

“Isn’t the Kingdom of Gods closed?”

“Because his power does not come from the Kingdom of Gods.”

The King replied calmly.

As a mortal, Earl Wally reached the pinnacle of what a mortal could do when speculating on the past events of the gods. However, after all, he was limited by mortal cognition and it was difficult to understand the gods more deeply. In fact, if the Holy Lord’s plan succeeded and He was resurrected and came to the earth, then the first thing He would do was to bury the Kingdom of Gods and make himself the only god on the earth.

The power of the gods was closely related to their honorable names, and since the Holy Lord placed himself in history by tampering with history, his power became closely related to mortals. The “Father” in the teachings pointed to this concept. He was the being who created mankind and was the father of all mortals. This teaching directly revealed his goal. He rooted himself in the beliefs and lives of mortals, thus reshaping the source of his power.

The Holy Lord freed himself from the old divine pantheon and used these methods to reshape his position and authority.

He became the God of mortals, and the world was His kingdom.

If the plan succeeded, then He would not need the Kingdom of Gods. This was also why the Holy Lord was able to betray the gods so unscrupulously in the legendary era, and did his best to push the Kingdom of Gods to be sealed forever.

There was nothing wrong with the Holy Lord’s plan. After the Holy See became a universal religion, it could be said that most of his goals were achieved. Only, He miscalculated human greed and ambition. If a traitor betrayed someone for the first time, there would always be a second time.

After the destruction of the Holy City in Holy Spirit Bay, the consciousness of the Holy Lord descended and dissipated. The end had finally arrived, and the last god of the past who tried to be reborn had withdrawn from the stage of history, his authority stolen by his spokesperson on earth. 

Now, Theolde was the king of the Kingdom of Gods, the god who walked on the earth.

All the faith that people have had in the holy book and the Holy Court for a thousand years had condensed instead into his power. To a certain extent, closing the Kingdom of Gods was actually a help to him. But Legrand must close the door to the Kingdom of Gods, just like Theolde must seal the rift between hell and earth at any cost.

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“Now, he Is is only one step away from becoming the prophesied ‘King of the World’.”

The wind was strong on the tower. The King looked at Theolde, who was worshiped by thousands of people in the distance.

——There could not be two kings of the world at the same time. One of the two kings was destined to die.

There was always only one winner on the throne.

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The far north wasteland used to be a vast snowfield, but now it was an ice-free black sea.

The temperature was so horribly low that the witches had to cast spells on themselves to prevent the hot breath from their mouths and noses from freezing on their faces, but the sea water did not freeze at all. The black sea water surged, making a gurgling sound that enveloped people in it. The shattered white spray of the waves became the only embellishment of this strange black sea.

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The sea water surged endlessly, the ebb and flow irregular.

The witches rode on their brooms, increased their distance, and looked down from high in the sky.

High in the sky, they finally discovered something suspicious. The seawater seemed to be flowing in one direction, and the waves were scattered like a huge whirlpool. Following the direction of the arc of the waves, they flew forward. The sound of the sea water became louder and louder, and finally it became rumbling like continuous thunder.

Here, the whole world was only sea water.

A large whirlpool thousands of meters wide, from which seawater continued to fall, like falling into a dark, bottomless abyss. The wind blew upward from the center of the vortex, carrying water vapor, forming a tornado that was difficult to approach. The rules of nature have no effect here.

The witches took out their wands, and light emitted from the top of the wand, forming a six-pointed star in mid-air. The witch leader stood up from her broom, stepped on the lines of the hexagram, and walked in the void above the whirlpool, the wind blowing her black robe. The witch leader held the ice sphere with a black snake sealed in her left hand, and an ink bottle carved from dragon bone in her right hand.

She moved forward step by step, and the tornado was separated by invisible force in front of her.

When she arrived at the center of the whirlpool, the ice sphere held by the witch leader’s left hand floated upwards and quickly grew in size in the wind. The black snake that was sealed inside began to dissipate, turning into densely packed Laws written in ancient divine script.

The witch leader opened the dragon bone ink bottle. A trace of sticky blood flew up from it and seeped into the ice crystal ball. The blood gathered and twisted like a snake, forming new words one after another, writing a new Law after the incomplete Law.

After the last word of the Law was formed, the witches could no longer maintain the formation, the light was interrupted, and the witch leader fell towards the abyss in the center of the vortex. A witch quickly flew over on a broom, grabbed her hand, and dragged her out of the whirlpool with difficulty.

The circling wind pillar collapsed and disintegrated in an instant, and the violent wind swept in all directions.

The witches were blown far away by the storm, and it was almost impossible to see the whirlpool in the sea.

Bright light rose from the sea, and the witches put on special glasses and looked in the direction of the whirlpool. The witch leader saw that the ice sphere handed to her by the King had now become extremely huge, like the moon falling from the sky to the sea. And this moon just landed in the whirlpool on the sea surface, filling the entire whirlpool.

White light began to spread out in all directions from the center of the vortex filled with the ice sphere. The black sea surface was covered with ice at an alarming speed, and snow began to fall from the sky. Faintly, the chaotic and violent power filling the world’s northernmost point was being quickly calmed down.

The witch leader finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The new Law was exerting its force.

From now on, the last door connecting the dusty kingdom of gods to the human world had been completely sealed.

……………… 

The crow carried the letter and arrived at Yoringshire City with the moisture of the sea water.

The patiently waiting King stretched out his hand and took the letter from the crow’s leg, which came from the vast arctic ice field on the other side of the Abyss Strait. After quickly scanning the letter from the witch leader, the King folded it and threw it into the fireplace.

“Let’s go.”

The King stood up and said to the Head of the Households who was waiting aside.

According to the plan, the King would now visit the injured soldiers in person.

At this time, when the sun was just breaking, people in the city could hear the sound of huge stones thrown by trebuchets hitting the towers and city walls. In the midst of the rumbling, without riding a horse or riding a carriage, the King walked through the streets of Yoringshire City. Early risers and patrolling soldiers met him and saluted him, and he nodded in response.

A girl, encouraged by her mother, ran across the street to the King and held up a small basket full of roses to the King.

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

The girl raised her head to look at the King, who was about the same age as her brother.

“May the past kings protect Legrand.”

“May the past kings protect Legrand.”

The King said, taking a rose with morning dew from the flower basket and pinned it on his collar.

“Go share it with them, my good lady.”

The patrolling guards wearing armor passed by here. When they saw the King, they stopped and raised their swords to show respect. The girl looked at the King, then at her mother who was smiling at her, and ran towards the guards with the flower basket. Between the sky and the earth, the morning light was dim. The patrolling guards hurriedly took the flowers handed by the girl and solemnly pinned them on their armors.

It was not just a rose, but a badge of glory.

“Let’s go.”

The King said to the Head of the Households.

There was nothing better than this.

The Head of the Households looked at this scene and vaguely understood the King’s intention of choosing to walk.

The rumbling and roar of artillery fire during this period were all too familiar to the people of Yoringshire City. The Holy Army of the Holy Land led by Theolde himself and the Holy Army of the Border coming up through the Doma River spread out from the east and west and surrounded the city of Yoringshire. Since the city was founded, this was the largest siege it had ever faced.

Relying on the King’s early preparations, the food distribution system formulated in advance, and the good news from the southeast being broadcast every day, the atmosphere in the city of Yoringshire, which was laid siege by such a large army, was actually quite good.

In the bar, the clown with paint on his face made up a cheerful song and sang while juggling colored balls. In the song, he “praised” the Holy Army for thinking highly of Yoringshire and treating it as the center of the world. This was the supreme glory of Yoringshire City…and so on. Some of it was the work of clowns and mischievous rascals themselves, and some it was difficult to say that there was not a sign of the King’s own handiwork behind the scenes as well.

No matter what, with the blessing of the past kings, the people of Yoringshire City remained positive and optimistic in the face of nearly 100,000 troops.

On the contrary was the atmosphere of the Holy Army outside the city.

In war, siege had always been a matter of time and patience. If the besieged castle was strong enough and the defenses were strong enough, then the attacking party could often only wait for the defending party to run out of food before they could win. Sometimes, it was not uncommon for a siege to last for a year or two.

Unfortunately for the Holy Army, Yoringshire City was such a military fortress.

Don’t know where Legrand found such insane architects to have frantically armed the castle to the teeth, but the towers on the city wall were strategically placed, and the archery holes were precisely calculated. The firepower pouring down from the city wall was like a heavy rain without any gaps. Legrand was not at all ashamed of the title of “heresy” that the Holy Court had stamped on them, gleefully building a batch of crossbows that were expressly prohibited by the Holy Court.

When soldiers holding crossbows fired sharp arrows at the siege soldiers from the archery holes, a true nightmare fell on the attackers.

When the Holy Army soldiers were hiding in the siege tower and approaching the city, Legrand’s soldiers poured bucket after bucket of green liquid down the city wall. At first, the Holy Army soldiers were relieved to see that it was not boiling oil, but they soon discovered that the green liquid poured down by the Legrand soldiers was horribly corrosive. Once it got on the wooden siege tower, it immediately became corrosive, eating through it in huge chunks. The soldiers all fell from mid-air into the moat filled with sharp gravels, their flesh and blood mutilated beyond recognition.

Because of this “green liquid” that was like a secret weapon, the Holy Army firmly believed that Legrand had truly surrendered to evil and darkness.

The officers of the Holy Army sent people to risk their lives to collect some of the green liquid. They studied it in the command post for a long time, but they still could not tell what these things were.

In fact, this must be attributed to a group of people who were also in Yoringshire City at this time.

They come from Legrand’s No. 1 Pathological Research Department——referred to as the “Lunatic Hospital.”

“The ratio doesn’t feel right. Who wants to come over and do another experiment?”

“Let’s try adding these two together.”

“No, the corrosiveness is too high and ordinary materials cannot withstand it…”

……

In a hospital temporarily converted from a monastery, researchers in white robes moved quickly with various strange experimental subjects. In the hospital yard, buckets of dark green liquid were neatly arranged. The city guards came and went, carefully transporting these things from the hospital on trolleys.

When the Head of the Households accompanied the King into the territory of these lunatics, even though it was not the first time, he still subconsciously felt his scalp go numb and like he was being surrounded by a group of dangerous madmen.

The original Legrand No. 1 Pathology Research Department was established on an uninhabited island not too far from the port of Koszoya. After the fall of Koszoya, the King immediately ordered them to withdraw from the southeast coast as quickly as possible. The Pathology Research Department had gathered almost all the elite biomedical talents in Legrand. Each of these people was important assets to Legrand.

It was worth mentioning that the researchers at the Lunatic Hospital regarded their research results and various experimental subjects as their treasures, and almost failed to withdraw because they were reluctant to part with these samples and data. In the end, thanks to the new witches who joined the research department, they solved the problem with their own witchcraft and flying broomsticks.

Under the protection of the witches, some researchers returned to the city of Metzl, where the Rose Palace was located, with experimental samples, materials, etc., while others brought other things to the city of Yoringshire——an excellent pharmacist often could also play another role, and knowledge that had been ignored in the past now made its first reveal on the battlefield at this time.

The green liquid that the officers of the Holy Army could not identify was the masterpiece of this group of researchers.

After the King and the Devil killed the lord of “greed and ill-gotten wealth”, the batch of gold coins guarded by the lord were sent to the royal family’s warehouse. The gold coins were covered in green, highly corrosive and unknown sludge. Adhering to the principle of “making the best use of everything”, the King had people collect the green sludge when cleaning the gold coins.

After the Legrand First Institute of Pathology was established, the King sent part of the liquid to the institute.

The researchers at the Lunatic Hospital have really lived up to their expectations and soon produced some results. Using the uniquely corrosive mucus from the hell lords as raw materials, they formulated a new liquid weapon that was highly effective against siege equipment, and nicknamed it “greedy drool”.

Except for this part of the work that was not as appropriate for putting on the surface, the Lunatic Hospital with its “Pathology Research Department” signboard was also a serious hospital. In this era when military doctors on the battlefield generally serve as chaplains, this was undoubtedly a very rare and favorable condition.

Although the defense of the city was successful, there were still many injured soldiers.

Some had their legs broken by rubble when a huge boulder hit the city wall, and some were injured while repelling enemies who climbed onto the city wall. The injured soldiers defending the city were immediately replaced and brought to this rather sinister-looking hospital.

The main hall of the monastery was modified and filled with hospital beds.

“Gentlemen, please be calm. Anyone who wants to sneak out before fully recovered is waiting to be thrown into a bucket by me.” The head of Legrand’s First Pathological Research Department, dressed in a white robe, and who had severe germophobia, the pharmacist Duna led a young man with an ashen face and walked in quickly.

In addition to the somewhat unusual research fields, the medical skills of the members of the Pathology Research Department were undoubtedly outstanding. Under the strict requirements of their germ-obsessed director, the cleanliness of the hospital was far superior to that of ordinary clinics. There was no place here for a poultice made from newborn puppies mixed with laurel earthworms.

However, the fact that the mortality rate of the wounded was so low was not only due to the lunatic hospital’s emphasis on sterilization and disinfection, but also to a certain group of people. The witches. Some very serious injuries were actually cured by the witches’ potions.

The injured soldiers were surprised to find that their wounds recovered much more smoothly than expected, and the wills they wrote were almost useless. The only thing they were not used to was that the people in this hospital, from top to bottom, were a bit germophobic and odd.

If possible, everyone would be eager to leave here as soon as possible.

Seeing the young man who failed to “escape”, the other wounded lying in the hall couldn’t help laughing happily.

The young soldier who was laughed at had a grimace on his face and could not utter a word under the pharmacist’s torrential curses.

However, he soon became happy again. It could be said that he was almost overjoyed.

Because the King walked in from the entrance of the hall——His Majesty actually came to visit the injured soldiers in person.

Everyone’s laughter stopped in an instant, and the wounded couldn’t believe their eyes. Near the door, a soldier was so excited that he forgot about his injuries, getting off the bed and wanting to salute the King.

“Lie down, my good sir.”

The King held his shoulders and said in a half-joking tone.

“I don’t want to see my soldiers, who were not taken away by the enemy’s arrows, end up losing their lives for a harmless courtesy.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

The soldier replied excitedly.

The pharmacist stepped forward and led the King past the hospital bed, while telling the King the cause of the injuries of the wounded, the current level of treatment, recovery level, and possible side effects. The King listened patiently, and occasionally asked the soldiers’ names.

“Recover well, Legrand will remember you.”

After making a round, the King looked around and raised his voice.

“For the glory of Legrand!”

The wounded responded in unison.

……………………

Time passed as both sides attacked and defended. The autumn chill became more and more intense, and winter seemed to be creeping up at any time.

The war had come to a stalemate.

The Holy Army cut off all connections between Yoringshire City and the outside world, and Yoringshire City’s weapons and food supplies were also rapidly decreasing. But the Holy Army could not gain further victory. On one occasion, they successfully dug down a tower of Yoringshire Castle. But when they got up the next day, they found that the Legrand people had repaired the tower overnight.

As time passed, Legrand’s soldiers were encouraged by the good news in the southeast, and their morale did not drop. Some of the wounded wanted to fight on the city wall again before they fully recovered——if the researchers at the Lunatic Hospital weren’t so aggressive, they might have done so.

Unlike them, the morale of the Holy Army outside the city was low at this time.

The wells near the camp were poisoned by the Legrandians, so they had to go to great lengths to transport fresh water from the Doma River. In addition, the surrounding food and supplies have been transported by the Legrand people in advance, and it was impossible to supply an army of so many people simply by relying on food plundered from the countryside. Previously, the arrival of the Holy Army of the Border was equivalent to opening a road for the Holy Army to transport food from the Doma River. The food was transported from the ports on the east coast of the Abyss Strait through the fleet of the Holy Army of the Border, temporarily alleviating the Holy Army’s military pressure.

The problem was that after Ferri III rebuilt Bressi, he took back control of their grain transportation ports and completely cut off their grain transportation routes from the source.

Food ration was the life of an army. After Bressi’s restoration and the news that the port had been captured reached the Holy Army, it caused an uproar. Except for the Knights Templar who were directly affiliated with Pope Theolde himself, the other commanding officers who participated in the Holy Army movement were more concerned about supplies than the siege of Yoringshire itself.

——The current situation was really not optimistic for them.

They were in desperate need of food.

According to Theolde’s order, the Holy Army of the Sea coming from the southeast and north of Legrand was the most dissatisfied. They believed that Theolde’s decision caused the Holy Army to lose all the victories it had originally achieved. Their sacrifices in the southeast became meaningless and their gains were in vain.

The situation of the Holy Army of the Holy Land, which was directly commanded by the Pope, did not seem to be much better. 

In addition to the main force of Bressi’s old nobles who were destroyed in the Battle of Douro City, the Holy Army of the Holy Land also consisted of minor nobles and wandering knights who were trying to climb the big tree of the Holy Court. They had followed the Knights Templar from the beginning. After landing at Porto Port, they passed through the Mason Hills and over the Kava Mountains and were already somewhat exhausted from the long journey. The knights who were lucky enough not to lose their horses during the journey had to bear the pain and slaughter their horses for food.

Legrand had basically chopped down the nearby wood in advance, and the only small amount of wood left was collected in order to make siege equipment. There was insufficient firewood, and it was even difficult for the soldiers to roast raw meat and dry food rations until it was soft. The treatment of ordinary infantrymen was even worse. They had to catch rats and wild dogs in the fields and eat weeds to feed themselves.

In this case, some soldiers began to sneak away at night. But food shortages and desertion were not the most serious problems for the Holy Army.

——Right now, the most troublesome thing was the sudden conflict between the Holy Army of the Holy Land, the Holy Army of the Sea and the Holy Army of the Border.

The Holy Army of the Border was responsible for blocking the waterway in Yoringshire City. In addition, it also assumed the responsibility of transporting food from the port of Herid City to Yoringshire City. When Ferri III recaptured the Holy Empire’s food transport ports, the Holy Army’s maritime lifeline was cut off. The situation of the Holy Army of the Border was better than that of the Holy Army of the Holy Land. They at least had food rations prepared by themselves.

Seeing that their ally could still have bread to eat, but they had to chew unpalatable raw horse meat and even rat meat, the Holy Army of the Holy Land and the Holy Army of the Sea became more and more anxious day by day. Many knights with violent personalities accused the Holy Army of the Border of intercepting the food that should have been theirs. Faced with this accusation that came out of nowhere, the Holy Army of the Border, who had been diligently working as a transport worker for a period of time but ended up being suspected of ill practices, was particularly angry.

If time went on like this, the desertion of soldiers caused by hunger was only a small problem. What was more serious was that it was likely to cause the alliance to break up and everyone to turn against each other.

When Theolde was examining the finally completed defense structure diagram of Yoringshire City in the main tent, Sisian lifted the curtain and walked in with a worried look on his face.

“They have started fighting.”

Sisian reported.

Theolde marked a spot on the map without looking up, seeming as if he wasn’t worried about it at all. During this period of time, Theolde had turned a blind eye to the commotion of the soldiers below. Sisian didn’t know exactly what he planned.

“The fight between several Bressian knights and the border knights has been stopped.” Sisian was clearly extremely anxious, “But… Your Majesty, food is a problem. And…”

“Tell me, the rest of the bad news.”

Theolde spoke calmly. He stood up straight and looked at the drawings.

“There are rumors that Holy Spirit Bay was captured by the Nujin Empire.”

Sisian carefully formed his words.

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

This news came from the Legrandians. The news was written on a piece of cloth and tied to the sharp arrows shot by the Legrand soldiers. After learning about this, Sisian quickly sent people to destroy the pieces of cloth and strictly prohibited the spread of rumors. But what made him suspicious was that if this matter was true, then the Holy Army should have known about it earlier than Legrand.

Unless……

Someone in the Holy Army blocked this news.

In the Holy Army, there was only one person who could do this.

And that was Theolde.

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