Throne of the North

Looking at the news coming back from the far north, the anger on the Holy Mountain lasted for a whole half day.

The honorable Pope denounced the incompetence of Cardinal Raymond and Pastor Soto, and then began to speak sharply to the Empire again.

"And that damn baron!!!"

"Tell me, why? Why did a baron of the Empire make us annihilate everything in the Andara Kingdom!"

"Why? Why!"

"We completely lost the faith and land of that kingdom, just because of a baron, just because of the incompetent Soto and Raymond, what on earth did they become believers of the Dawn!"

After being angry for a long time, the Pope suddenly calmed down, as if the previous anger was all a show on the spot.

However, the coldness of his eyes meant that his anger actually always existed, not only against the Empire and Baron Ryan, but also against people in the Vatican.

Pastor Soto, Cardinal Raymond, but they are already dead, and it is meaningless to pursue responsibility, so the living people in the Vatican need to stand up to bear the guilt.

"Imprison the commander of the Eiffel Legion in the Abyss Prison for ten years."

The Pope's voice frightened countless believers on the Holy Mountain.

"Also, that baron of the empire is threatening the Church. Does he really think that the Church dare not give up the believers of the Andara Kingdom!?"

"Chenxi never accepts any coercion or compromise."

This time, someone stood up.

It was Archbishop Adriana. Her status was very high among her peers and she could face the Pope directly.

"Your Holiness, perhaps we have to do this."

She spoke, forcing the Pope to lower his eyes and look at the archbishop who had been favored by the gods many times.

"In the Andara Kingdom, the believers of Chenxi are far more than the more than 100,000 believers in that city. Baron Ryan told us that if we don't agree, he will kill hundreds of thousands of believers."

"That's his exaggerated words. There are not hundreds of thousands of believers in that city, only 100,000 at most. I still understand Pastor Soto's ability."

Adriana shook her head.

"Perhaps, he is not exaggerating. He is talking not only about the believers in the city, but also about all the believers of the Dawn in the Andara Kingdom."

"In the territories of those nobles, there are our churches and priests. In the cities of the kingdom, there are our churches and priests. Whether it is the royal city or the villages of the baronies, there are our believers."

"There must be people who serve the Dawn there."

The Pope clenched his fists. Yes, the control of the faith of the Andara Kingdom by the Holy See over the years has allowed them to proudly say that among five people, they can definitely find a believer who can speak the Dawn doctrine.

But now, this pride has become a means for Ryan to threaten them.

Hundreds of thousands? Less.

"Perhaps, this is him saving more believers."

The Pope stared at Adriana, a little angry.

"You are actually speaking for him? For an imperial noble? A baron? The heir of a great noble?"

Ryan's identity information has naturally been mastered by the Holy See.

"No."

Adriana shook her head and said:

"I believe Baron Ryan is an enemy of the Church, because he might really kill those people cruelly. What I said is that under his decision, we will save more people."

The Archbishop looked at the Pope and said in awe:

"Your Majesty, do you really intend to hand over the faith of the Andara Kingdom to the Empire?"

"Of course not."

"In that case, the believers of the Dawn on the land of the Andara Kingdom are our chance to regain the faith there."

"If we still have the people on that land, then we have the opportunity to regain the faith of the Andara Kingdom with their help and let the light of the Dawn shine there again."

"But...if they all die, there will be no chance."

"We need to use a city to ensure that the nobles of the kingdom and the empire will not harm the lives of those people who still believe in the Dawn. That is our power to stay in the kingdom."

The Pope nodded. It was for this reason that he used a city to tell the world that their faith in the Andara Kingdom had ended, so that more believers could survive.

Those were the nails they left on the land of the kingdom.

He certainly didn't think that the Church would not regain the faith of the Andara Kingdom, especially during his tenure, he would make the Church prosperous again.

"Then go and ask that damn baron how much he wants."

"Also let Black Swan act, and when he leaves the kingdom, I want him to die in the territory of the empire."

"Since a marquis has been killed, it's no big deal to kill another baron."

The cold voice of the Pope echoed on the top of the Holy Mountain, and no one dared to question his decision.

...

"How much do I want?"

Ryan looked at Archbishop Adriana in front of him. The other party came so quickly. In just one day, he went all the way north from the Holy Mountain in the south to the Andara Kingdom. What did he ride?

Ryan didn't see it, he only saw the sincerity of the Church.

So he smiled.

"Do you know, Raymond, that red cardinal, how many soldiers did I lose?"

"Thirty thousand, a full thirty thousand people, killed by him."

Although Adriana was still very volatile, she was not as kind as she was the last time she faced Ryan. She was more cold and noble.

"Baron Ryan, I have learned that you only lost more than 3,000 soldiers, and there are less than 500 soldiers who really belong to you."

Ryan's smile faded, and his eyes became cold at this moment, making Adriana feel like she was looking at the Pope before.

"Only? Less than 500?"

Ryan's voice was cold.

"Do you know that human life cannot be described by numbers?"

"Every one is priceless."

Adriana did not answer, but asked:

"How much do you want? If it exceeds the value of more than 100,000 believers in that city, the Church will reject all your requests."

"The faith of Dawn does not accept any oppression."

"This is the first time I have heard the word oppression from the Church."

Ryan smiled and no longer concealed it.

"One million gold coins."

"In addition, I want one hundred drops of holy water, the kind you gave me last time, which can save many people."

Ryan recognized the divine arts of the Church. In front of these divine arts, fatigue and illness were nothing.

"Then I also want that city, the Dawn Wall City, and the land included in the city."

Adriana frowned, and Ryan knew what he meant.

"I know what you want to say. Even if I don't want that city, it no longer belongs to the Church. It can belong to me and the kingdom, but everything needs a formal ceremony."

"The Church lost the city, but the city was once obtained by the Church from the kingdom. The way and means are formal. Now I want this inheritance to belong to me, Ryan."

"What's the meaning?"

Adriana asked, Ryan kept silent. Of course, he didn't want to say that he wanted to use the deep-rooted influence of the city in the kingdom to absorb people who have a good impression of the Dawn.

He didn't care about the light or the dawn, he only knew that as long as those people were in his hands, he could create value for himself.

What's more, the city itself was of great value, and it also included the best farmland, rivers, lakes, mountains, and forests around.

These values ​​were all huge.

"The Church will agree to your request."

"It's not over yet."

Ryan continued:

"You people of the dawn have eaten me for three days and almost emptied my granary. The food allowance is 50,000 gold coins."

Ryan looked at Adriana and said:

"Archbishop, you should understand what I said. I helped you save many believers in the kingdom, didn't I?"

"Even the clergy of the Church in the noble territories were only expelled, not killed."

The Archbishop looked at Ryan, so you really knew everything?

"I'm not as cruel as you think. There's no need for me to kill all the believers."

"Even if there are hundreds of thousands of believers in the city, if the Church doesn't want them, I will find a way to send them back to the Empire and give them to the Emperor in exchange for a reward."

"Kill them? It's meaningless."

Lian shook his head. Adriana's impression of him was much better.

"The Lord will take care of you."

Under the current situation of the Empire and the Church, Ryan was able to protect the believers of Dawn, which surprised the Archbishop.

"No need, the Light will take care of me."

Lian laughed and told Adriana when the things were delivered to him, and when he could take away hundreds of thousands of believers in the Dawn Wall City.

Unexpectedly, the next moment, a mountain of boxes was piled in front of Ryan.

Master Ryan, who was breathing a little hurriedly, stared at the boxes, and after confirming that they were all gold coins, he looked up at Adriana.

"If I rob you now, can I get more gold coins?"

The latter shook her head.

"That is the wealth of Dawn."

Lian restored his noble demeanor and branded his emblem on the contract, and the symbol of the new dawn of the church was also branded on some formal parchment.

"That city is yours."

"So you quickly take your people away and leave my city."

One million and five hundred thousand gold coins can make Master Ryan praise Dawn, plus the wealth he had previously plundered in the city and the kingdom's nobles shared with him, plus the reward given to him by the Andara Kingdom...

He suddenly understood Adams's reaction when he saw the royal wealth.

The Dawn Wall, no, it is now called Dawn City.

"Now this city, completely belongs to us?"

Bogeld was surprised and ran wildly with Volibear on the empty streets. Except for those churches, this is a complete city, and even the city walls are not damaged.

"Not only here, but also the farmland and lakes outside, are all ours."

Lian said with a smile, and then spoke seriously.

"Bogeld."

"I will grant the Violent War Bear Legion the ownership of the five thousand houses in the City of Dawn and two lakes outside the city, one large and one small. All the wealth and food produced there will be yours."

"Brand."

"The Buck Legion will enjoy the ownership of the seven thousand houses here and the three thousand acres of farmland outside. All the wealth produced there will be used to reward the soldiers of the Buck Legion."

The two legion commanders opened their eyes wide and thanked Ryan.

Ryan's decision catapulted the soldiers of the two legions into the high-income group of the Tundra Territory. Even if they were taken as a family unit, a family could become rich.

The flag belonging to the Tundra Territory was planted in Dawn City, which would undisputedly belong to Ryan. After leaving two hundred soldiers behind, Ryan rushed to the royal city with his army.

Outside the city, most of the nobles' troops have returned the same way, but the Legion of Light Judgment from the empire is still stationed here, and they have not left yet.

The legion numbered 30,000 when it arrived, but now only 21,420 remained.

There are even more casualties in fact, because a small group of these people are actually supplements from the kingdom's land later.

Catching strong men is not a rare thing. After the noble territory is captured, the population that flees is like a lamb to be slaughtered.

Therefore, the war in which the empire supported the Kingdom of Andara was actually more cruel than imagined.

Ryan didn't know what kind of treatment these people would receive if they returned alive, nor what it would look like when thousands of families who lost their young and strong families were once again added to the land of Beifong Province.

He asked his attendants to move out a dozen boxes.

"At the beginning, you threw away a silver coin and followed me to charge. Today I will tell you that you threw away a silver coin, but you will receive a higher honor."

"One for each person!"

"This is a personal thank you from me, Ryan."

The soldiers opened their eyes wide. They had never felt the presence of gold coins in their lives. This was not because gold coins were not good, but because they were not good enough.

But now...gold coins worth twenty silver coins and two thousand copper coins were placed in front of them.

That is wealth that you may not be able to earn even if you work hard for a year.

The soldiers lined up subconsciously and there was no crowding. They believed that Baron Lane would not let any of them lack.

Even those strong men became much more loyal in front of the gold coins.

The soldiers began to pick up a gold coin. There were knights watching. Everyone was very conscious and did not dare to be greedy. Some soldiers found that the gold coin they received seemed different and had fingerprints on it.

It seems that someone used strong force to leave fingerprints on the gold coins.

"I said, this gold coin is not just wealth, it bears witness to your honor on the battlefield."

Some soldiers' necks were a little red because they actually picked up the silver coins they had thrown away after the war.

After all, the value of a silver coin is very precious to them.

"How about we return the previous silver coins?"

A soldier whispered, and the people around him hesitated, but Ryan did not give them a chance at this time.

Hundreds of large boxes were moved out. The wealth that Mr. Lane collected during the war in the Kingdom of Andala cannot be measured by gold coins.

The boxes were opened one by one, and inside were white silver coins. For ordinary people, this was the real wealth.

"I said, the gold coins before were your honor and my recognition and testimony to each of you, Ryan Clayton."

"That's not wealth, it's not just wealth."

"And if you fight with me, Ryan, you will get money."

"You have followed me from the Beifong Province of the Empire to the Kingdom of Andala, and have experienced a long war. I don't want your descendants to ask you a question when you talk to your sons and grandsons in the future. When you gain nothing from the war, you have nothing to offer.”

"Fifteen silver coins for each person, this is your military pay!"

The first time they heard the lofty word "military pay", the soldiers also became excited. When each soldier really held fifteen silver coins tightly in his palms, they began to cheer excitedly.

"Long live Master Lane!"

"Long live Master Lane!"

The cheers even alarmed the nobles in the royal city, but when distributing money, it was destined to be a long process. Ryan had no time to pay attention to the nobles in the royal city and King Adams.

Seeing another batch of boxes being moved out, the soldiers began to wonder if they were hallucinating.

"This war is not for the empire, not for the noble lords you are loyal to, but for the Kingdom of Andara."

"They invited us, so naturally they wanted to pay us."

"Ten silver coins each."

The soldiers were breathing heavily. They had never imagined that they would be so rich.

One gold coin, twenty-five silver coins, plus some soldiers actually picked up some valuable things during the war...

"Long live Mr. Ryan!!!"

The Mudlegs have nothing to say. If possible, they are willing to follow Lord Ryan in another war.

The boiling sound continued to arouse Wang Cheng's thoughts. This time, Ryan had the idea of ​​​​dealing with the nobles.

He paid military salaries to the soldiers on behalf of the kingdom. Ten silver coins were given to ordinary soldiers, but what about the knights? What about the nobles? What about your attendants? For Stuart, for Rose?

Although Captain Farrell is not a member of the Legion of Light and Judgment under his command, he is the future commander of Winged Canyon, and he must show his kindness to a legend.

Speaking of which, the silver coins given to these soldiers were the smallest part.

But he will receive the most unwavering loyalty.

Loyalty is more than allegiance, it can be many things.

But Master Ryan was also heartbroken. He needed to ask the kingdom for the military pay and compensation. He had given so much, and the kingdom had to give him more.

Oh, yes, there were also rewards and compensations for Baron Ryan himself.

"The dead soldiers will also have a share of the living. I have asked the soldiers to help bring back their families in their respective territories."

In the process of entering the royal city, Ryan was of course not alone. There were also Lord Hora, Feder, and the nobles who followed the legion.

"I hope that everyone can be loyal and let this money appear in the families of those dead warriors."

Ryan said this, and the nobles catered to it, but what it would become was not Ryan's business.

He just finished his words, and let the specific results go.

The Legion of Light Judgment belongs to all the nobles of the North Wind Province and the Empire. He Ryan is only the commander-in-chief.