After Becoming The Tyrant CH 132 Burning Gods
"We have already held a knife pointing to the Holy Court, so when do you plan to point it to the east bank? Your Majesty." Earl Wally asked.
"The sooner the better."
The King replied.
He had already received a letter from Godfather Charles, and the Walway Pirates and the Royal Navy were ready. The astrologers have calculated that within the next three days, the last northward current on the northern east coast of the Abyss Strait would cover the sea near the Lowland Alliance in dense fog for several days in a row. The witches and the Dragon Wing Battleships have a special way of orienting themselves in the fog, making it an excellent cover.
The attack was about to begin.
Before the raid, the more shocking the actions in Legrand's territory, the better. He must try his best to attract the attention of the Holy Court for them.
As for how to do this, further thinking was needed.
The matter was temporarily noted down, and the King turned to discuss other matters with Earl Wally. The Hanging Swordsmen were the best hunters in tracking history. They have been silently hiding in the shadows, following clues in the fog of time to find the behind-the-scenes truth behind the sudden rise of the Holy Court in the legendary era.
"We infer that there was a fault era between the first two centuries after the end of the legendary era." Earl Wally took down an ancient parchment scroll from the bookshelf, and spread it out on the table, "The gods faded at the end of the first millennium, and the splendid age of the gods was forgotten in less than three hundred years, and this kind of forgetting was too deliberate——you see."
Earl Wally pointed to some marked points on the map.
"The coast of the Hopeless Inner Sea, according to our speculation, should be the most prosperous area of the civilization of the gods, but in these two centuries, the city-states of the Hopeless Inner Sea attacked each other. And in the restoration of related battles, we found that in this area, burning cities was a very common method. Most of the city-states that have encountered fires have independent temples. Such large-scale mutual killings were apparently to compete for water sources and trade routes."
"But Your Majesty, according to our research, the past three hundred years have been a rare and rainy period along the coast of the Hopeless Inland Sea. The city-states had sufficient water sources, and the shipbuilding technology of the same period was not enough to support a close commercial network. If it was really a trade dispute, then it should be concentrated on the east side of the Hopeless Inner Sea."
"A war deliberately provoked."
The King whispered.
"We have this suspicion, but there are too few relevant materials to prove it." Earl Wally sighed. "The historical materials of this period have either been burned or should be in the hands of the Holy Court."
"Did Legrand not save any?"
"Very little." Earl Wally shook his head heavily. "In the first century, the era of legends had just ended, and Legrand's situation was not good, and we didn't have the ability to cross the Abyss Strait. The witches of the North during the 'Hundred Years Migration' lost too many things. The ones most likely to retain the relevant history are….."
"The barbarians."
The King looked at the map, and the battle outside Benz City passed before his eyes, and the warriors in black armor on the battlefield covered in severed limbs and wreckage faced them from a distance.
The maritime barbarians who once briefly unified all the countries in the Hopeless Inland Sea called their empire the "Nujin Empire". They were different from other peoples, these steppe peoples who were used to wandering and migrating, they didn't have any civilization carriers like city-states for people to burn!
"The rule of the Nujin Empire was short-lived and lasted less than ten years. Compared with their terrifying military strength, it is incredible that their empire ended so quickly. However, after the end of the barbarian empire, in less than a hundred years, The Holy Court appeared in the Hopeless Inner Sea——if it was because they had wanted to avoid the Holy Court’s edge, then it would explain why the powerful empire disappeared so quickly.” Speaking of this, Earl Wally looked at the King, “Besides this, the barbarians' traces have been puzzling."
"The sea barbarians attacked." The King effortlessly followed Earl Wally's train of thought.
"Yes, Your Majesty. The barbarians are called the shadows on the 'prairie', and they often disperse for a long period of time, mixing in different parts of the world. But every longer period of time, they will suddenly gather together from all over the world, and the number of people is as large as a sea of sand, to launch a simultaneous invasion targeting both sides of the Abyss Strait. However, the tide-like invasion will quickly recede. We have not been able to figure out their law of action until now. But if they are combined with the lost gods of the legendary era and the sudden rise of the Holy See, I think amazing discoveries can be made."
Earl Wally spoke quickly, his eyes were sharp, and there was a faint hint of excitement.
The fog of history was being lifted layer by layer in front of them, and many seemingly irrelevant lines were slowly intertwining together.
"Of course, these are preliminary conjectures, further work is needed to confirm them." Earl Wally said frankly, "However, Your Majesty, there is one point that I think can be used as supporting evidence."
"Tell me."
"The Gulundi heavy cavalry. Their heavy armor technology is completely different from the current era." Earl Wally stood up and took a few steps. He lifted a drape hanging over a cabinet, revealing the black armor of the Gulundi heavy cavalry that was displayed majestically behind the glass.
Back then, the King used the swamp to lure and kill a small group of Gulundi heavy cavalry. Later, General Sheehan sent someone to fish out the heavy armor from the swamp, and one of them was taken over by the Royal Academy of History in the name of research.
"This is not the heavy armor technology that the Hopeless Inner Sea should have. They have even surpassed today's level."
Earl Wally, this elderly professor was like an invincible general on the battlefield at this moment.
"They contain clues to the age of the gods."
The best hunter caught what he wanted in the mist.
The King applauded gently.
"I think I know what to do," said the King. "Thank you for your efforts, sir."
He stood up, just in time to see the Head of the Households walking towards him in a hurry through the courtyard.
The Head of the Households brought news that was neither good nor bad for the King.
………………
"The burning of idols?"
The King unfolded the letter paper.
This letter was sent back from overseas. In addition to the "Local Public Response Committee" on the surface, the King's Black Wings, the intelligence organization in the King's hands now had another intelligence network that could not be exposed on the surface.
This was a network organized by undercover spies, and the King used it to track the situation at home and abroad.
The King's spies entered the lords' mansions on the other side of the Abyss Strait by posing as monks, bards, sailors, etc., and then reported the observed information to the King.
At present, the person in charge of this spider web was the Head of the Households who was frequently standing next to the King.
The rest, no matter who they were, meeting with the King too frequently would always arouse the vigilance of the keen nobles. But the Head of the Households was not included in this list. He himself needed to be responsible for enforcing discipline and supervising the normal operation of the inner court. The Head of the Households had unfettered direct access to the King most of the time.
The Head of the Households bowed slightly, waiting for the King's order.
He knew that the King entrusted him with this spy network because of his trust. Because of this, he had always been careful to ensure that the information transmitted to the King was 100% truthful, and it was up to the King himself to judge whether it was good or bad.
But today's news was neither good nor bad.
The Holy Court had made new movements. It has issued orders to the Lower El of the Hopeless Inland Sea and the small countries along the Abyss Strait, requiring them to maintain their loyalty to the Holy Lord and completely burn all remaining statues of the old gods. When the news reached the King, at the city-state wharf on the coast of the Hopeless Inner Sea, the statue of the old god had already ignited into ashes amongst the flames.
"Unity of faith."
The King said.
He realized what he should do——whether it was to cover for the Walway pirates who were sailing northward in the Abyss Strait, or to stop the Holy Court's step-by-step construction plan for the Kingdom of God.
He thought for a while, and then asked the Head of the Households to search for the traces of the Gulundi heavy cavalry, and then began to write the writ with a pen.
After receiving the writ, the Head of the Households took a look, and couldn't help showing surprise on his face.
He didn't say anything more, and withdrew with the writ.
……………………
Notices were quickly posted all over the public bulletin boards of Metzl Castle, and a thunderous news spread quickly: Archbishop Anil invited all the scholars staying in Metzl City to come to St. Wyth Cathedral at 10:00 tomorrow morning to witness the burning of the Pope's lies.
".....here, the ancient and apostolic customs will be followed, the most terrible and blasphemous lies will be exposed, the papal decrees and the evil books of scholastic theology will be burned. To all who are devout to the Holy Lord, it is time to rise up and complete this heroic act of upholding the dignity of the Holy Father.”
"The one who controls the crown should be judged by eternal fire."
As soon as the announcement was posted, in less than a day, many conflicts occurred in the city of Metzl. When the timid people saw the content of the announcement, they knelt down tremblingly. Those who hesitated dare not make further comments on this. Radicals clapped their hands, scholars discussed loudly and argued against each other. Someone tried to tear up those notices, but soon, they were all thrown into prison by the fully armed Iron Rose Cavalry.
Because of this incident, in the taverns, the owners had no choice but to go to great lengths to hire strongmen with long spears to stand by the tables, in order to prevent fierce conflicts between people who held two extreme opinions on this matter.
Obviously, not all believers could accept such words that seemed as if it should be burned at the stake.
Before ten o'clock the next day, the opposition party, under the organization of a priest, formed a large guard also wearing armor, holding weapons and banners. They elected their own representative, bent on exposing Father Anil's true heresy in front of St. Wyth Cathedral, and protested to the King.
In such a tense atmosphere, as if armed conflict and violent suppression could break out at any time, the next day arrived soon.
The crowd began to gather, and the civil guard of the opposition party, led by a priest dressed in black and holding a cross, walked through the long street.
Ten o'clock would soon arrive.