After Becoming The Tyrant CH 140 The Dragon's Landing
It was pouring rain in April in the Holy Empire.
The Emperor of the Holy Empire, the Pope of the Holy Court, Theolde, who had this dual identity, stood in front of the stained glass window with the image of the Virgin Mary saving the Son. He was watching the rainwater slide down the glass, and the Virgin Mary looked merciful and sorrowful.
This was what Cardinal Sisian saw when he hurried in with the secret letter sent back from the Knights Templar. He subconsciously slowed down his pace, and the anxiety in his heart gradually calmed down. He had known Pope Theolde for a long time, and in his mind the Pope was the most determined and invincible person he had ever met.
And the facts have also proved that his impression was correct.
The man who said to him, I want to restore the glory of St. Peter, had now established a powerful Kingdom of God, and drove this carriage forward with firm will.
After the Kingdom of God was established, different internal voices have always existed.
Sisian knew that in private, there were not many old nobles who were optimistic about the Holy Court. In their view, the Holy Court was powerful, but it was undoubtedly a fantasy to transition from a religion to a country. They chose to be silent, but they wanted to wait for the Holy Court to be unable to handle a series of affairs, and instead relied on them. Just like the previous kings of Bressi, they simply could not do without the help of the nobles.
However, Pope Theolde showed his political skills were not inferior to his theological attainments. He manipulated those greedy and cowardly nobles, just like the most brilliant puppet master manipulated their dolls.
Sometimes, Sisian felt that Theolde was actually a born monarch.
"The Holy Lord teaches us to be peaceful, my dear friend." The Pope heard his footsteps and turned around slowly. "No matter what happens, one should maintain inner peace."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Sisian replied seriously, and he handed the battle report to the Pope, "The news from the First Legion is that the ports of the Lowland Alliance have been attacked and the throne has been destroyed."
"It's indeed unfortunate news." The Pope sighed. "Our allies are not as reliable as imagined, while our enemies are stronger than imagined. How did they accomplish it?"
"According to the news that came back, all the attacks took place at night. Legrand's navy launched the attack under the cover of the thick fog. They seem to know the layout of the ports well. Our defenders' counterattacks all failed. They directly attacked the port military where defenses were most vulnerable."
"The astrologers."
The Pope shook his head slightly.
"They made the wrong choice."
"The Second Alliance of Astrologers." Sisian also thought of it, and his expression was a little ugly. "Besides them, the Dragon Wing Battleship has appeared."
"The Throne of God cannot be destroyed by Dragon Wing Battleships alone."
"Yes." Sisian was a little ashamed, "The Gorgon appeared in the Eagle's Mouth Bay. She is the avatar of the World Serpent. We have hunted her down for so many years, but we never thought that she was hidden in Walway among the pirates. Your Majesty, this is my negligence, if I hadn't made a mistake eleven years ago and successfully arrested her..."
Eleven years ago, Sisian was the one who was in charge of leading the Twelve Sanctuaries of the Holy Court to hunt down and kill Griselda.
The Pope patted him lightly on the shoulder: "You have already taken the punishment for your mistakes eleven years ago, so you don't need to be harsh on yourself anymore. If you say that, then I am more responsible than you for this matter. I didn't expect Legrand's depravity to be so thorough, they have recovered the Dragon Wing Battleship, and it is my fault that the throne is destroyed."
"Your Majesty."
Sisian was startled, and quickly wanted to explain that he didn't mean to accuse the Pope.
The Pope waved his hand, signaling him not to worry too much about it: "What about the rest?"
"The city-states of the Hopeless Inner Sea have surrendered, and the city-states that still retain the statues of the old gods have been attacked by the alliance of other city-states." Sisian reported.
The Burning of the Old Gods movement was progressing more smoothly than predicted.
When most of the city-states succumb to the prestige of the Holy Empire, they would in turn become the help of the Holy Court. This was not difficult to understand, there was already a conflict of interest between city-states, and being able to use the prestige of the Holy Court to carve up the "cities of heresy" was a cake that could not be let go for other city-states.
"Besides this, according to your instructions, we focused on monitoring Lower El, but we didn't find any barbarian knights. It seems that the Gulundi heavy cavalry has no intention of participating in this war. Your Majesty, why should we pay so much attention to a mercenary group that is not of any threat?” Sisian was a little puzzled.
"They will become one of our enemies."
The Pope replied.
"How about Legrand's preparations?"
"Mr. Earl Pligney is ready, and the Baliners have also boarded the ship. The presiding inquisitor's ship has also docked." Sisian replied, he then paused, and asked with some hesitation, "Your Majesty, do you think those two families are really reliable? Although the rebellion is to provide us with time to fully prepare, who is to say this will not also provide Legrand with time to breathe?"
"My dear friend, you have confused one thing." The Pope explained gently, and he led Sisian to the map hanging on the wall of the room. "It is not that we are giving the enemy time to breathe. In fact, if possible, I want to fight immediately more than anyone else, and strangle that stubborn heretical family in the bud. However, we don't have the time."
The Pope tapped on the map: "This is the battlefield where we helped Charles and attacked Ferri III. This is the 'Battle of God's Punishment' we launched, and this is our purge campaign against heresy... Before and after the establishment of the Kingdom of God, there were three major campaigns, each of which we won."
"The Holy Lord protects His warriors."
Sisian drew a cross on his chest.
"No, it's not the Holy Lord who protects His soldiers. It's the Holy Court's thousand-year savings that protect our soldiers." The Pope smiled and shook his head, "Nowadays, every war we wage is rapidly consuming the Holy Court's thousand-year-old savings. The wealth and prestige that passed down. But you are not in charge of these affairs, so you are forgiven for not knowing. What does our empire look like to you?"
Sisian replied without hesitation: "The Holy Lord's Kingdom of God is as solid as a rock and cannot be broken."
The Pope laughed: "No, in my opinion, our empire is just a castle in the air, just like the light and shadow in the water, gorgeous but not yet rooted."
Sisian was taken aback: "Your Majesty! The Holy Lord bless us."
"You and I have known each other for so many years. Others don't know what the Kingdom of God is like, but don't you?" The Pope shook his head imperceptibly, "We are different from any nation in the world. Our people are all over the world, but in the whole world there are no real people of ours. We often say that a person is a believer first and then a citizen, but the reverse is also true.”
The Pope's voice was steady and powerful, and he paced slowly in the room.
"Without real people, it means that we cannot slowly recover after heavy losses like other countries. We have built a powerful empire through these three wars. The enemy surrendered to us because of our strength, and all our glory are all closely related to our strength, but once we are no longer strong, all the lambs in front of us will turn into wolves in an instant, devouring our flesh and blood more fiercely than anyone else."
"Legrand is different from other lambs who would bend their backs in front of us. They are scar-ridden hungry wolves but still prowl the edges with covetous eyes. Facing such an enemy, even a lion must do its best. Between us and Legrand, only a full-blown, massive campaign will occur."
"Either don't make a move, or completely erase this country from the Western Continent."
The Pope said coldly.
"This is a fight to the death!"
It was raining heavily outside the window, and lightning tore apart the sky and the earth.
Sisian was covered in cold sweat. After days of victory, he finally saw the truly terrifying crisis underneath.
This was the true face of this world. In the grand feast of power struggles, the identities of the lamb and the wolf may be reversed at any time. If you don't win to the end, you will become someone else's meal.
"Follow your wisdom."
He drew the cross on his chest and lowered his head in complete submission.
"Release the news and tell everyone that Ferri III is dead. There is no longer a Bressi Kingdom in this world." The Pope issued his order one by one, "Send a message to all the city-states in the Hopeless Inner Sea, regarding the city-states that still retain the belief of the old gods, other city-states should launch military conquests; have the astrologers make more accurate predictions about the drought that will appear in the northwest of the empire in late April; strengthen the propaganda of the "Doomsday"... Finally, issue the "Holy Legion" conscript order."
A series of orders were made with murderous intent.
"Yes."
Sisian took note one by one.
After Sisian retreated, the Pope stood alone in front of the map, looking at Legrand on the map.
Some ports along the central coast of Legrand have already been marked by him.
He stretched out his hand to connect a line between Swan Harbor, where Legrand changed its master, and the small countries along the Abyss Strait, and smiled slightly.
"In this world, the most terrifying thing is the greed of the human heart, not the tyrannical armament."
The Pope sighed.
………………………
People who were driven by profit could do anything.
Therefore, the King was not surprised when he heard that the Pligney family had begun to eliminate the "crows" in their territory. What he was more concerned about was what method Earl Pligney used to eliminate the spies of the Head of the Households.
"The Holy Court's intelligence network, White Eagle."
The Head of the Households delivered another report to the King.
"We have an opponent that should not be underestimated." The King sighed, "This is an eye for an eye."
They had just destroyed the Throne of God of the Holy Court, and in return, the Holy Court lifted the net they had deployed in Legrand——the knights that Earl Pligney had publicly summoned in his own territory, and his actions could be described as swift.
Unlike the previous Northland Rebellion, this rebellion was dubbed "Crusade"
Among the reasons why Earl Pligney organized the military operation, one very important point was accusing the King of heresy, allowing witches and fallen people to set foot on Legrand, and even publicly blessing heresy. As a follower of the Holy Lord and a subject of the King, it was necessary for him to use force to force the King to correct his mistakes.
Supporting him was the head of the Holy Court Inquisition Bureau who came from afar across the Abyss Strait.
The head of the Inquisition Bureau brought a copy of the "Excommunication Order" issued by the Pope to the King, as well as dozens of arrest warrants for witches.
With the arrival of the head of the Inquisition Bureau, another net was opened in Legrand.
An intelligence network opposite to the King's "crows".
After the rebellion in the Northland subsided, the King had already cleaned Legrand's territory and pulled out some spies planted by the Holy Court. But the time was short, and the nobles' territories were intertwined. It was impossible for the Holy Court's intelligence network to be completely destroyed in such a short period of time. And with the arrival of the chief inquisitor, this intelligence network was fully activated.
The "Eagle Eye" belonging to the Holy Court patrolled the territory of the Pligney family and the Mason family, and a war hidden under the smoke was launched between them and the "crows" belonging to the King.
These days, in the territories of the two families, people often see armored knights kicking open the door of the tavern under the guidance of a person in a gray cloak, and from behind the bar, from in front of the tables, the seemingly ordinary individuals were dragged out.
And also from time to time, a clergyman would suddenly have his throat sliced with a knife while walking in an alley.
When night fell, people dared not leave their homes, but they could still hear the sound of horses galloping and swords colliding, mixed with a few faint sounds of hand cannons.
This was the battle between the white eagle and the crows.
"I have to say, with the help of the Holy Court, our Mr. Earl possess more brains than before."
The King's evaluation.
After the denunciation was issued, Earl Pligney did not immediately gather troops to attack the royal city, but cut off the communication fortress between the royal city and the eastern coast and within the eastern coast. He yelled loudly about "crusade by force", but what he did was try his best to cut off the coastal coastline in the middle of Legrand.
This didn't look like the intelligence that Earl Pligney should have.
Earl Pligney defected to Grand Duke Grice in the "Rose Crisis" and was a member of the New Royal Party.
Unfortunately, during that civil war, the earl was quickly defeated by the old subordinates of the Duke of Buckingham, and he actually disguised himself as a woman to escape the Royalist soldiers.
Mr. Pligney's "moving deeds" once became a joke in Legrand's upper class. For this reason, after the "Rose Crisis", Earl Pligney practically retired from the upper class and stayed in his own territory. Now it seemed that when he rebelled with Grand Duke Grice, he might not have been recruited by Grand Duke Grice, but that he had already fallen to the Holy Court.
After the head of the Inquisition Bureau arrived, the Earl, who was able to escape by disguising as a woman, immediately came out of his castle, dressed in armor and holding a giant axe, practically wishing to shout his manliness and bravery to the world.
However, this kind of behavior didn't seem to be of any help to clean up his reputation.
One after another, some nobles joined the vanguard battle of this crusade.
"The Philly family, the Colville family..."
The King flipped through the list submitted by the Head of the Households, and whispered the name of each person who had joined the Holy Court's camp. His expression remained unchanging, making it difficult to fathom his emotions.
The Head of the Households stood aside with his head bowed, and did not disturb the King's thinking.
The King quickly went through all the lists. He leaned back on the chair, closed his eyes slightly and meditated.
The list was similar to what he had expected. The central nobles who participated in this rebellion were basically minor nobles with small territories and very little hope of having their gitles promoted. Although the rest of the big families did not join the rebellion, they did not intend to send troops to suppress the rebellion either.
They remained on the sidelines
………………
In Putton County, not far from Collin County, Earl Gray, like all the neutral great nobles, rectified his weapons, but turned a blind eye to the chaos in the neighboring Pligney and Mason family territories.
"Father, are we to wait like this?"
Earl Grey's son Sidney hurried in.
He was a young lad, tall and heroic, he was conferred a knighthood not long ago.
Earl Gray wiped his sword: "Aren't the Montes still carrying on as before in their castle?"
The "Monte" Earl Gray mentioned referred to the Monte family in the west of Puton County. They and the Gray family were feuding families. The territories of the two families were too close, and the conflicts that broke out due to personal hatred between them could not even be completely written in a whole book.
"Just because they aren't moving, so we have to endure?" Sidney asked.
"Father means that we should wait and see."
The older brother Dale patiently explained to his grumpy younger brother.
Dale was much older than Sidney, and had already followed at their father's side to handle matters in the territory.
The King was not the only one who paid attention to the coup on the other side of the Abyss Strait. The storm that started from the rebellion in the Northland had already worried everyone. As nobles, the great nobles of Legrand could clearly see the current situation of the Bressi nobles on the other side of the strait.
They either lost their lives in the "Battle of God's Punishment", or lost their superior status after the establishment of the Holy Empire, and fell below the priesthood from their original status. They were now similar to that of the church aristocracy and this kind of shift was not only a hit to their dignity, but more importantly, meant the change of local control.
The great nobles of Legrand did not want a group of monks and priests who came from across the Abyss Strait to take away from them the territory that had been passed down in their families for hundreds of thousands of years.
They didn't want to be the second former Bressi noblemen.
Only the minor nobles would fall into the embrace of the Holy Court so actively, because once the Holy Court wins, they would have the opportunity to turn from minor nobles to great nobles.
"But, then why don't we attack them?"
Sidney said indignantly.
"They are a group of traitors and despicable people."
"Can you be sure that we will win in the end, or the Holy Court? Can you resist the Holy Legion, or can you resist the arrival of angels?" Dale asked back.
Just as Sidney was about to say the oath he made when he was awarded the knighthood without hesitation, Dale pressed his shoulder and shook his head.
Because during their argument, their father had already cleaned the long sword in his hand.
Earl Gray stood up and looked at his young sons sharply: "Yes, it is for the sake of inheritance, but not only for inheritance. We are nobles and Legrandians. It is indeed our mission to fight for Legrand. But I want you to remember——”
"War is not child's play."
Earl Gray was rarely so stern, and the two brothers didn't dare to say any more for a while.
At this time, a messenger rushed into the castle hall.
He brought the latest information on the rebel territory.
The flames of war had ignited.
………………
Herrid City was a city on the eastern coast of Legrand, famous for the "Swan Harbor" that belonged to the King. Although Swan Harbor was not as big and prosperous as the Port of Koszoya in the east of Legrand, its strategic significance was higher than that of Koszoya Port.
Swan Harbor was located in the middle of the Legrand coastline and was the mouth of a branch of the Doma River.
After the Battle of Boen, one of the conditions offered by the Bressi Expeditionary Force during the negotiations for the return of the "Moon River Fortress" was to hand over Swan Harbor to Bressi.
Three days ago, the mayor of Herrid City received a letter from Pligney requesting them for food rations and grass.
This unreasonable request was firmly resisted by the citizens of Herrid City. Therefore, the mayor directly rejected Earl Pligney's request. It was said that the messenger sent to reply to the letter also relayed the ridicule of the people of Herrid City on the "big man who survived by women's clothing".
Perhaps it was to save his own face, or perhaps it was ordered by the head of the Inquisition Bureau. After receiving the letter, the earl raised the battle flag angrily and crossed the wasteland, approaching Herrid City.
As one of the cities belonging to the royal family, Herrid City had not been idle after rejecting the request.
The soldiers raised the drawbridge and closed the city gates. The citizens armed themselves and began to prepare to defend their city, mocking the "Earl in Ladies' Clothing"——this was the new title bestowed on the Earl of Pligney.
"May the Holy Lord bless him, so that he will not have to go to the battlefield wearing a long skirt."
"That way, he might really be able to make a killing on the battlefield——after all, the opponent would be too busy laughing."
The soldiers on guard were chatting, waiting for the arrival of the enemy.
Everyone was watching this battle.
Objectively speaking, even if Earl Pligney, who was a particularly bad battlefield commander, was not discussed, the strength of the Pligney family and the Mason family were not very good, and they were not considered the strongest families in the central region. Even if the head of the Inquisition Bureau supported him, not many people were optimistic about his action this time.
What would he rely on to attack Herrid City?
The answer was a dragon.
Earl Pligney wore armor and rode on a tall war horse, looking majestically at the walls of Herrid City, which was submerged in flames.
The solid city wall was shattered, red flames rolled for dozens of meters, smoke and dust billowed and boulders flew.
The soldiers' broken limbs were thrown high in the blast-like air waves, and a ferocious black shadow rushed out from the shattered city wall, flapped its wings and flew into the sky, roaring and spitting fire out again at the solid tower. A fire that could melt everything.
This was no longer a war.
This was a massacre.
Even if all the nobles in the vicinity lead troops to come to support, it would not help. The citizens defending the city witnessed this legendary creature.
That was a black dragon!
The dragon's roar was violent and spread far away, shaking the entire castle in its roar soaked in the desire to kill. A strong wind swept between heaven and earth, and the evil dragon spread its wings and hovered above the human castle. One or two brave soldiers with bows and arrows shot iron arrows at it with all their strength.
But those arrows shot with all the courage of a soldier were crushed by the strong wind before they even reached the dragon.
Earl Pligney, who was originally gleeful, felt inexplicably afraid amidst the dragon's roar.
The head of the Inquisition Bureau looked at the black dragon that was massacring Herrid City. He was the "attendant" that the Mason patriarch met in the heavy rain that day. He personally went to the harbor of the Mason family to welcome the giant ship that came from the black tide. The only passenger on board was a dragon trainer in white robe. And this dragon.
"It's so violent." The inquisitor sighed, "As if venting its hatred."
"Isn't it indeed venting hatred?" The dragon trainer standing beside him chuckled, "This is the anger that had lasted for two ages."
The city of Herrid was submerged in thick smoke and red flames.
Thousands of years later——
The dragon landed back on familiar land!