Heir to the Kingdom of 1.4 billion people

Chapter 156 Tamerlan, do you want to be king?
At the summit of the highest peak of Sun Mountain, a magnificent church stands quietly atop the mountains.

The golden spires pierce the clouds, as if the fingertips of God are touching the mortal world.

As the first rays of dawn shone down, the entire church seemed to be ignited by the sun's fire, with stained glass and gold flowing in the light, dyeing everything around it a holy amber color.

This is an indescribable building; it seems to gather all the beauty in the world, making everyone who sees it feel a spiritual tremor from the bottom of their heart.

The Starry Manor, built by Piercing the King at great expense and over ten years, is like comparing a common stone to a piece of jade when compared to this.

The reason is simple: this Dawn Church was built over nearly a thousand years by countless devout followers of the Sun Church, who poured their hearts and souls into its restoration using modern techniques.

Each brick may be a microcosm of a believer's life, and each exquisite mural may be the result of top painters from different eras exchanging their best skills across time and space.

Moreover, how can an oppressed slave be more devoted than a believer filled with reverence?

Over the past thousand years, some have dared to question why the church expends so much effort on building churches.

If this energy had been used in other areas, the Church of the Sun might have doubled in size.

And this is how the pope at the time answered:

"Gods dwell above the stars; if there were no magnificent temples to inspire awe, how could mortals believe in their greatness and their own insignificance?"

Then he changed the subject.

"Of course, God may not care, but we must care."

A thousand years later, Tamerlan stepped into this church as the morning light shone through.

As a sacred site of the Church of the Sun, the entrance to the Church of Dawn is filled with paladins dressed in armor adorned with sun patterns.

Each of them possessed at least the strength of the Morning Star rank, and even Paladins of the Crescent Moon rank were not uncommon.

Those extraordinary individuals who would be considered powerful anywhere on the mainland are relegated to the mundane task of guarding the gate here. However, for the Sun Cultists, this is undoubtedly an honor to be proud of.

Swish!
The moment Tamerlan approached the gate, the paladins, without prior arrangement, bowed deeply in unison to the handsome, blond youth as a sign of respect.

It's hard to imagine that a young man of such a young age could earn such respect from the paladins, after all, every paladin is a battle-hardened and strong-willed person. But if the young man's name is Tamerlan, then everything makes sense.

Tamerlan Rhine, the grandson of the current Pope, awakened the protection of the Crescent Moon rank on his 100th day of life, with the blessings of King Rhine VIII and other important figures.

This was just the beginning of his illustrious career. At the age of three, Tamerlan awakened to the gift of discerning lies from truth, and as a child, he helped the court solve many long-standing and difficult cases.

He became a knight apprentice at the age of six, a transcendent at seven, a Morning Star at twelve, and a Crescent Moon at eighteen. At his coming-of-age ceremony, he was personally granted the status of a Holy Knight by his grandfather, who was also the current Pope. In full view of everyone, he was further blessed and promoted to Crescent Moon, drawing cheers from the crowd.

Besides his strength, Tamerlan's character is so admirable that everyone who comes into contact with him praises him as a born paladin.

At the age of twenty, he advanced to the Crescent Moon rank and achieved dual protection of Ice Blue, a terrifying advancement speed that even the great heroes of the Age of Gods could hardly achieve throughout the entire history.

From then on, the name Tamerland Rhine spread throughout the entire Kingdom of Rhine, and even the nobles of neighboring countries heard of it.

Some time ago, when a villain was committing a series of heinous crimes in the City of the Sun, it was Tamerlan who pursued the villain across thousands of miles, traveling day and night and fighting a bitter battle before finally beheading him.

People respectfully called him "Son of the Sun," meaning a child who was favored by the sun god.

Everyone felt that this title, which was considered an affront to divine authority, was perfectly fitting for Tamerlan, because if it weren't for divine favor, how could anyone be born so perfect, so dazzling, and so intimidating?

"My colleagues, thank you for your hard work."

Tamerlan smiled broadly, nodded slightly in return, and then strode into the Church of Dawn.

Unlike the pristine white exterior, the interior of the church is predominantly black.

The painted dome overhead is about 100 meters high and depicts the magnificent scene of "Genesis". Looking up at it for a long time can even make people feel dizzy.

Tapping.

Because the interior is so empty, Tamerlan can clearly hear the echo of his own footsteps every time he walks here.

"Tamerlan!"

A familiar voice came from behind, and before Tamerlan could turn around, he spoke:

"It's been a long time, Tristan."

Tamerlan turned around, and standing in front of him was a paladin with long red hair.

The paladin's red hair shone like molten copper in the sunlight, with a few stray strands hanging down his forehead like embers still burning in a furnace.

His brow bones were high and sharp, yet his amber eyes revealed a hint of fragility; his nose was high and straight, and his lips were as thin as paper.

A pale old scar ran diagonally across his left cheek, which, far from detracting from his handsome appearance, actually added a touch of heroism.

"I heard you went to the royal city to hunt down villains. It seems everything went smoothly?" Tamerlan smiled.

Tristan, twenty-six years old at the time, was a Crescent Moon rank Paladin Centurion like him and was also a recognized genius. However, due to his frivolous words and actions, he did not have a good reputation in the church.

However, for Tamerlan, the other party was indeed one of his few friends.

"I would say it went fairly smoothly. That villain gained the protection of a nobleman in the capital by swearing allegiance. He was kept in the manor and refused to admit anything until I threatened his son with a sword and finally got him to confess."

Tristan stretched and said casually.

"Um, what is that nobleman's title?"

"I think he was a marquis."

Tamerlan: "."

The blond youth's lips twitched. He finally understood why his friend had such a bad reputation in the church, and some people even suggested removing him from his position as centurion.

He threatened a marquis's son with a sword and also threatened a marquis. If it weren't for the protection of the Church of the Sun, he would have been on the Rhine Kingdom's wanted list long ago.

"By the way, Tamerlan, I unexpectedly heard some important news during my trip to the capital." Tristan looked around to make sure no one was around before speaking mysteriously.

"Oh, what news?" A hint of curiosity flashed in Tamerlan's azure eyes.

Eating melons is human nature, and even he is not immune to it.

The red-haired knight grabbed Tamerlan by the shoulder and pulled him to his side, whispering in his ear:
"The missing young princess of the royal family is still alive." Upon hearing this, even the usually calm paladin couldn't help but show a deep surprise on his face.

For some unknown reason, the children of the Rhine royal family fell ill and died one by one as if cursed, resulting in the complete annihilation of the family.

Even with the protection of royalty, it was all in vain; often, they would die before even reaching the infant honor ceremony.

The young princess refers to the time approximately seventeen years ago, shortly after the queen gave birth to a new princess, when the palace was attacked by an unknown assassin.

In a critical moment, the queen had no choice but to use an item that could randomly teleport to send away her infant daughter, who was less than 100 days old, leaving her to face the assassins alone.

Although the assassins were eventually wiped out by the arriving knights and the queen was unharmed, even though King Rhine VIII spent enormous resources searching the entire kingdom, he was unable to find any trace of the young princess.

In the end, they could only announce the death of the young princess in despair, after all, the probability of a baby still in swaddling clothes surviving after being randomly teleported to different parts of the world was extremely slim.

"Is the information reliable?" Tamerlan immediately pressed.

If this is true, the impact will be enormous!

First and foremost, if this young princess could be found, the Rhine royal family, which had previously been without an heir, would have a new successor.

It should be noted that the Rhine Kingdom's greatest military force—the crimson dragon "Sin of Hellfire" Ignio, which is hundreds of meters long, only obeys members of the Rhine family with a high concentration of bloodline.

Therefore, many people worry that after the current king and queen pass away, the Sin of Hellfire, which no one can control, will leave the Rhine Kingdom and become a wandering wild dragon.

If such a terrible outcome were to occur, the long-standing balance between the three kingdoms would be immediately shattered.

The nobles of the other two countries, chanting slogans of honor and chivalry, would fanatically follow their king, who rode a dragon in the sky above, greedily plundering the land, people, and currency of the Rhine Kingdom like ravenous wolves devouring sheep.
A nobleman who doesn't want to be promoted is not a good nobleman, and a war in which dragons fight dragonless ones, and victory is certain, will undoubtedly bring new blessings and glory.

This is an opportunity to change the fate of the entire family and leave one's name in the family tree; no nobleman with a sound mind would miss it.

If the surviving young princess could be found and she could gain the approval of the Sin of Hellfire, it would mean that this devastating war that would engulf the entire human race could be averted.

That's why Tamerlan was so eager.

“Absolutely true. The royal family found a gold-grade divination compass, used it to confirm the young princess’s survival, and divined that her location was in the east,” Tristan said in a low voice.

A golden compass?!
Tamerlan's expression gradually became serious.

The divination compass is an extremely rare treasure that can predict the location of what you want to pursue.

Its creator is a mystery, and the craftsmanship has long been lost, with only a few unique pieces surviving from the Age of Gods.

The divination compass is divided into three levels: bronze, silver, and gold. The higher the level, the lower the error rate of divination.

A gold-level divination compass can achieve a near-zero error rate, which means that the news about the young princess's survival is indeed true.

"The royal family has already dispatched the Kingdom's Hand with the Golden Compass to the East to find the young princess. This news is currently under strict secrecy and is only known to the royal family's closest confidants. I only overheard him mentioning it by chance when I was hiding in the Marquis's study gathering information on villains."

Tristan explained.

"Have you reported this to the bishops of the Cardinals?"

Tamerlan temporarily ignored his friend's eavesdropping behavior, which was extremely egregious for a paladin, and asked again.

The College of Cardinals is the highest decision-making body of the Church, answerable only to the Pope, and is responsible for handling all matters of the Church.

"I reported it as soon as I got back yesterday. The bishops had a meeting that lasted all day, and I just received a full thousand merit points as a reward. It's the first time I've ever felt that those annoying old guys are so kind!"

As he said this, Tristan's face was full of excitement, and he even had to cover his mouth to keep from laughing out loud in the solemn hall.

Merit points can be exchanged for treasures in the Blazing Sun Treasury. A paladin without a rank who dedicates his life to the church can often only accumulate 100 merit points without any special opportunities.

Tristan received the merit points that an ordinary paladin could accumulate in ten lifetimes simply by overhearing a piece of news, so it's no wonder he was so happy.

“Congratulations, Tristan. I appreciate you sharing such valuable information with me, but you should refrain from eavesdropping in the future,” Tamerlan sincerely advised.

As a friend, he felt obligated to guide Tristan in the right direction.

"Don't worry, it was an accident this time. I definitely won't do it again next time," Tristan said dismissively.

He felt that with his noble character, he would not have done eavesdropping if it weren't for the pursuit of evildoers.

There can't be a next time!
"By the way, Tamerlan, will this news disappoint you a little?" Tristan's eyes darted around, and he almost whispered in Tamerlan's ear.

"Why should I be disappointed?" Tamerlan asked, startled.

"Think about it. If the young princess is dead, wouldn't you, with your Rhine bloodline, also have the status of heir? After the royal family passes away, with your grandfather and godfather still around, our Sun Church will fully support your ascension to the throne. Wouldn't you then become the new king of the Rhine Kingdom?"

"From now on, the Rhine will be a theocratic state, and thanks to you, we paladins will also have lands and noble protection."

Tristan continued talking non-stop, completely unaware that his friend's expression was becoming increasingly serious.

"How about it? If you're interested, since you're my friend, I can secretly head east right now and try to abduct the young princess before the Kingdom of Hands finds her, so she'll never appear on the land of the Rhine Kingdom again."

Before the red-haired paladin could finish speaking, he saw a finger growing larger and larger in his field of vision.

boom!
Tamerlan flicked his fingertip lightly on the red-haired knight's forehead, and it was as if a bowstring had snapped, creating a sudden gust of wind.

The next moment, before Tristan could even scream, he was sent flying like a kite with a broken string, crashing hard into the church wall behind him.

“Tristan, that’s enough of the jokes. I don’t want to hear any more of these boring jokes from you.”

Tamerlan said calmly, his originally gentle blue eyes now becoming noticeably sharp, and a layer of frost seemed to have settled between his brows, making people feel intimidated.

Is he angry?!
Tamerlan got angry!
"Okay, I'm sorry, it was my fault."

He slumped on the floor, a bright red finger mark on his forehead, looking like Tristan had been branded with a hot iron and instantly cowered.

He was in pain all over his body, yet he could somehow sense that he hadn't been hurt at all, as if he were stuck on the line between pain and injury.

Seeing this, Tamerlan said nothing more, but silently turned and left, leaving the still uneasy red-haired knight behind.

At the same time, a message appeared in his mind.

The gift of control: You can perfectly control every bit of your strength, capable of lifting a frail baby, breaking steel, and raising mountains.

(End of this chapter)