Throne of the North.

Chapter 444: The Kingdom’s Political Struggle and the Greedy Priest

The King of Serra invited the Archbishop of the Holy See, Archbishop Adriana, to enter the palace and had a conversation with the King about the relationship between the Holy See and the Kingdom. Many nobles and clergy of the Holy See also accompanied him.

The discussion was naturally heated, but from beginning to end, Archbishop Adriana said nothing and calmly watched the noisy crowd in the palace.

The nobles only wanted to agree to half of the king's proposals, because those could expand their own interests, and they were not satisfied with the remaining half.

As for the Holy See, few clergy were willing to accept it, because past practices were enough for the Holy See to gain many benefits, and they could order the nobles around.

They were unwilling to accept the new changes, believing that King Serra was weakening the power of the Holy See and weakening the power in their hands.

"As you can see, the Kingdom of Serra was established less than two years ago. We do not have enough power to maintain the army. If possible, the Kingdom of Serra would like to support the war between the Church and the Empire through money."

"Too many people have died on the nobles' lands. Last year, due to the lack of young and strong people, we relied on the food purchased from the Chamber of Commerce for the entire year, which cost us too much money."

"In the new year, I don't want the nobles of my kingdom to still need to purchase food supplies."

"We need our people. The best outcome is that there will be no war for twenty years, because then we can restore the population of the kingdom."

The king's authority is unquestionable. The nobles may pretend to obey his orders but the king's orders are issued at this moment.

"From now on, the Kingdom of Sera will freeze its military status. Without the king's order, no nobles, including the church, are allowed to gather troops."

The king issued an order, and the nobles of the Kingdom of Serra were not qualified to deny it. The clergy looked at Archbishop Adriana, the only one who could veto the king's order.

But until the end, Adriana didn't say a word. She looked at everyone coldly.

Thus, the new policy of the kingdom was decided.

The meeting ended with everyone feeling preoccupied.

"Exclusion is inevitable. They cannot make the king cancel his orders, but they choose to execute or not. The king prohibits military warfare, but the nobles have many impeccable reasons, such as Valencia's declaration of war with all its dignity at stake. It is difficult for the nobles to intervene. This is the nobility among the nobles."

In the manor, Ryan also received the order from the king. The more restrictions the king issued, the more likely war friction would break out.

"If you want the nobles to comply, you must let them see the cost of refusing."

"If you want the Holy See to comply, you have to make it see the benefits."

"Can money corrupt the faith of those clergymen of the Holy See?"

Ryan couldn't help asking himself and came to a rough conclusion.

"They have long been corrupted."

Following the king's order, a group of wandering nobles were granted titles and land by the Kingdom of Serra.

Most of the titles are lords, with a small number of barons. As for the land, they are all in disputed places. The Kingdom of Serra was established because of war. The result of the war was that a large amount of land was forcibly divided. Many nobles did not recognize it, but the records of the kingdom showed that those lands did not belong to any noble.

This resulted in the land being occupied by the nobles under the king's order and given to the wandering nobles by the king.

"If you want something, you have to pay for it."

"I can give you the power to take back the land that belongs to you, but what will you give me in exchange?"

Ryan found some wandering nobles and told them that if they wanted to occupy the land given to them by the king, they needed the power to protect the land, which was what the wandering nobles lacked most.

Because of their wandering, the training rate of knights was pitifully small. They had no land to grow food, hunt wild beasts, and even no money.

Knowledge is their only wealth.

"My family once had a magician from the Holy Land. He left behind a precious magic book that contains more than thirty kinds of powerful magic..."

"My ancestor was once a sky knight. His life's work condensed into knightly combat skills..."

Ryan obtained a large amount of extraordinary inheritance from these wandering nobles without bloodshed, making up for the scarce extraordinary inheritance in the Frozen Territory. It was a pity that there was no legendary inheritance among them.

Come to think of it, the birth of legends in the past was the privilege of people who could change the course of history. The family of such a person, let alone how prosperous it was, the legends alone would protect the noble family for at least hundreds of years, which was enough for them to accumulate a huge amount of heritage.

Such nobles will either be completely destroyed in history, or they will always leave something behind and avoid becoming wandering nobles.

Ryan cooled the boiled water and lied that it was a life potion unique to the Frozen Territory. He gave it to the people chosen by these wandering nobles to drink and gave them spiritual blessings at the same time.

"These potions will consume your vitality. Your life span will be shorter than that of ordinary knights."

Ryan said this, and the people in front of him all had firm eyes.

"We can sacrifice our lives so that our family can rise again."

In order to become nobles again, the wandering nobles were willing to give it their all.

With the improvement of combat effectiveness, they also began to recruit soldiers, or to be more precise, to lease and lend them. Among them were a large number of people lent to them by Ryan. These people were the ones who were classified as slaves in Ryan's manor during the war.

The remaining personnel came from the noble territories in the Serra Kingdom that originally followed the McReynolds family, such as the Count Fragoso family, who rebelled against the Andara Kingdom and became part of the Serra Kingdom.

The three major factions of the kingdom are the loyal followers headed by Count Fragoso, the nobles who later moved south from the Andara Kingdom, and the nobles of the original four large noble territories on the land of the Serra Kingdom.

The first batch of nobles were of course carefree, while the next two batches had many conflicts and their relationship with the royal family was not that close. It can be said that the first batch were staunch royalists, the second batch were a faction pursuing interests, and the third batch were purely victims. Their resentment towards McReynolds will probably not disappear for a hundred years.

What a coincidence is that, under the king's order, the lands obtained by the wandering nobles were all closer to the third group, the indigenous nobles on the land.

"You have already paid the price for power and the price for land. I hope you will live up to the trust that His Majesty the King has placed in you."

Ryan's words made the wandering nobles look cold.

"Don't worry, Lord Ryan, we...will never let them live."

The wandering nobles would take revenge on their enemies, which was something that each of them had experienced personally, so if possible, they would definitely be willing to wipe out the roots, because they knew very well that the land they obtained was a robbery of the territories of those nobles.

The most crucial point is that Ryan himself told them that they could kill them all.

"This land needs a new group of nobles, nobles from the Kingdom of Serra, not those who claim to be the legitimate descendants of Carlos."

With the establishment of the Kingdom of Serra, hidden dangers still exist. The most obvious ones are those escaped nobles who claim to be Carlos's direct descendants. They have gained a lot of help and support from nobles in the south, and they are clamoring in the noble circles to take revenge on McReynolds and take back their land.

The Kingdom of Sera is facing both internal and external troubles.

This was also one of the forces that pushed King McReynolds to agree to Ryan's idea. The establishment of a kingdom was definitely not smooth sailing. It was accompanied by blood and fire, which would burn any noble who tried to subvert the rule.

For one day and two days, the atmosphere in the Kingdom of Sera became eerily quiet.

It was not until the fifth day that chaos broke out. The army formed by the wandering nobles went to their own lands with the king's orders, and unsurprisingly discovered that another noble had already occupied those lands.

"Is this the territory of our Lord Fisher? Why are you here?!"

The people of the Fisher family shouted loudly, but it was impossible for the other side to give up the soil that had been cultivated for more than a hundred years. The war broke out between hoes and pitchforks, and intensified in front of the knights' swords.

The Barony of Valencia.

As the most outstanding representative among the wandering nobles, Baron Valencia had to make more efforts. They finally got the news that Archbishop Adriana did not trade anything from Baron Mendes, and the archbishop left the barony disappointed.

"Revenge! Revenge! Revenge for Zar!"

The Valencia family, and Connie Dean, who was seeking revenge for his brother, once again led their army to attack the territory of Baron Mendes. In less than three days, the two armies tacitly broke through the defense line of Baron Mendes, and Baron Mendes had to declare the defeat of the war and surrender.

"My brother died at your hands. Mendes must pay the price."

Connie said angrily, and then obtained ownership of the forest and monetary compensation from Baron Mendes.

He had killed all of Mendes' knights and returned to the Dean family in triumph. For a time, the reputation of Connie's heir overshadowed that of Baron Dean.

Next, it's Valencia's turn.

"The dignity of the Valencia family must not be violated!"

In panic and despair, Baron Caird Valencia killed Baron Mendes. More than one hundred members of the Mendes family were killed, and the Baron's castle was reduced to ruins in the fire.

In the dark night illuminated by flames, Caird was trembling all over. He was also in fear. He killed all the people of Mendes. Even if it was announced tomorrow morning that Baron Mendes overturned the candle and caused the fire to start because of the failure of the war, it would not change the nobles' suspicion of Valencia.

Most importantly, he never imagined it would end like this.

Lord Ryan said that he had to do this for the future of Valencia. Similarly, in order for the king's orders to be implemented, nobles like Mendes who did not obey the king's orders must die.

"I am right, for the sake of loyalty to His Majesty."

Caird kept brainwashing himself, and gradually, he was no longer afraid when he saw the castle in flames in front of him.

Baron Mendes was the first noble to be exterminated, but in this kingdom, there were many nobles caught up in the war, and those wandering nobles were as brutal as the orcs in the north.

They had nothing left, so they were willing to risk their lives to plunder.

Even more, Ryan once again gained more inherited knowledge, including a whole set of knight breathing methods that could become a legend.

"The Violet Knight Breathing Technique comes from an ancient kingdom on the Norris continent."

"The North submerged everything, but his ancestor was a knight of the Violet family and preserved the breathing method."

“It’s very precious, but it’s unlikely to be the only copy.”

Ryan was very satisfied, and generously gave this wandering noble more blessings, allowing him to have hundreds of soldiers with the physique of trainee knights.

Don't underestimate the number of these one hundred. Not even a single baron can provide so many elite warriors. The barons of the empire can still find ways to squeeze them in, but the barons of the kingdom will definitely not be able to support so many.

Thus, the second noble whose family was exterminated appeared, and even this time, the fire that was not prevented in the dark night could not be used as an excuse.

Because it happened on the battlefield in broad daylight, everyone was killed in full view of everyone.

The remaining nobles caught in the war finally began to feel fear, and they started to ask for help, not from the king, but from the four great nobles represented by the family of Archduke Carlos.

There are only five and a half great nobles in the Kingdom of Serra. Ryan is one of them, and the remaining five, except Count Fragoso, are all descendants of Carlos.

In the land of the Serra Kingdom, they still hold a lot of power and resources, such as the obsidian veins, which make Archduke Carlos a nobleman as wealthy as the royal family.

The Griffin Legion, after experiencing numerous wars and suffering heavy losses, was hidden deep in the mountains. During this period of time, it finally flew again in the sky of the Serra Kingdom.

To be precise, it was the sky above the four great noble territories.

Otto, the leader, held a sledgehammer and warned these nobles not to forget why they surrendered. He also made Archduke Carlos understand that the Kamikaze Corps had been wiped out and they had no extraordinary power to fight against the royal family.

The king has issued an order prohibiting the outbreak of military war within the kingdom. Although bloody wars are now breaking out in many lands of the kingdom, the king can pretend not to see it.

Except for the great nobles, whenever there is an army gathering, the king will definitely have a sharp eye.

I have already issued an order not to allow military war, why are you still starting a war?
By then, the Griffin Legion will descend from the sky, and these great nobles will have no way to defend themselves. Whether they question the king or reject the king's orders, they will pay a huge price to calm down. Facing the Griffin Legion, the four great nobles must compromise.

For their own interests, the four great nobles had to ignore the war that was now raging everywhere in the kingdom. This made the wandering nobles even more crazy, and they tore at the flesh and blood of those nobles like mad dogs.

The politics of the Serra Kingdom has become divided into two distinct sides: the nobles backed by the king, Ryan, and Fragoso, and the nobles backed by the four great nobles. It seems that none of them are involved in the chaos on the kingdom's land, but in fact, all the people in the chaos are pawns in their political struggle.

If the king wins, the orders he issued will be perfectly executed. If the four nobles win, then the orders he issued before will be thrown away.

Power is changing, and in some places it has already happened.

The Barony of Valencia.

Atop the ruins, the church is still bright and beautiful, and people coming and going will go into the church to pray.

This was originally the church of the Barony of Mendes, and now it is the church of the Barony of Valencia.

"Father Connolly? Have you finished your prayers for today?"

Baron Caild Valencia looked at the priest coming out of the church. It seemed that the priest had anticipated his arrival. He withdrew his hand from the nun and praised the glory of the morning light to the baron.

"Praise the morning light. Its greatness is beyond doubt."

Caird said this, and then asked the servants behind him to bring over the wooden boxes one by one.

When the box was opened, the large amount of dirty copper coins still made the priest's eyes shine, and the box of silver coins made him unable to move.

"This is the tax revenue that belonged to the Holy See in the barony last year."

"The king's order is to allow the Church to collect taxes within the Kingdom of Serra. Starting this year, all nobles must obey the king's order."

Caird's words made Father Connolly a little confused.

"But you said this was from last year."

"Yes, Father, but you have to understand that the taxes that the Kingdom of Serra pays to the Holy See are for the Dawn Holy See, not for you."

"The priest is only collecting taxes from this barony on behalf of the Holy See."

“This was last year, but the king’s order was only implemented this year.”

Father Connolly understood, his breathing quickened, he stared at the small box full of silver coins and reached out his hand.

Caird reached out and held the priest's hand, saying eagerly:
"Taxes will be paid to the Vatican starting this year, but Father, you know that my territory has a small population..."

"About five hundred people."

There are more than 500 baronies, but the Vatican doesn't know that.

"Each citizen must pay the Church 60 copper coins, an average of five copper coins per month. This is beyond doubt."

Father Connolly said righteously. He understood what Caird meant and continued:

"Lord Baron Valencia, your territory only has 500 people."

"I, Father Connolly, have been here for decades, and I can't count this number wrong."

Caird laughed and took the priest's hand and put it into the box of silver coins. The white silver coins made the priest's hand tremble slightly.

How could he personally own so much money?

(End of this chapter)