Pirate Kingship.

Chapter 537 The First Believer of the Ten Thousand Winged Angel

Byron dug a hole so big that he could bury himself up to his neck in the dirt for the Kalmar Union and then disappeared.

But the Kalmar Union will have to continue to suffer the consequences of what their own people have done to them.

The storm had long since stopped.

Under the blood-red sunset, in the port of Bergen in the Earldom of Hordaland, which is closest to the Faroe Islands and only separated by a fjord, the pungent smell of gunpowder has not yet completely dissipated.

Three or four huge, ugly sea monsters whose original species were almost unrecognizable lay dead on the beach, and their colorful and strange blood formed streams and flowed into the sea.

A group of soldiers wearing leather clothes and holding pliers were carefully cleaning up. They dug a large hole on the beach and piled the scattered limbs and arms together again.

“Be careful not to get your hands on the blood of these ugly monsters. A [craftsman] will light whale oil and burn their bodies to ashes.

After they are completely burned, I will find a [Navigator] to summon the tide to wash them all back into the sea.

Also, convey my order: fishing is closed in Bergen Harbor for ten days.

Tell those people who make a living by fishing that if they don't want to die, if they catch any strange-looking fish, they should immediately throw it back into the sea, and don't eat raw fish just for the sake of novelty.

From now on, the sea that we have coexisted peacefully for thousands of years will no longer be peaceful."

The young earl, who had inherited the title only a few years ago, was personally directing the soldiers to deal with the aftermath, shirtless, regardless of the cold wind of early spring in the north.

According to the tradition of the Taiwanese people, their muscular upper bodies are covered with tattoos of various ferocious animals.

No wonder the [Queen of Eternal Night], [Bear Man] and some of the nobles are all staunch Orthodox believers. In addition to their admiration for the strong, they also have a more secret cultural conversion.

The ancestors of the nobles on the Eternal Night Peninsula were all barbarians and pirates. If many professions did not have cultural requirements, they probably would not even be able to write their own names.

If you pull these guys out to play pirates, they don't even need to act, they have pirate temperaments in their bones.

Like the indigenous people of the southern continent, they still retain the most primitive savagery of their ancestors.

The young earl led his men around the battlefield and turned to look at the Faroe Islands across the fjord, with a hint of hatred in his eyes:
"Ulysses, you are thankfully dead.

Otherwise, if you dare to use us as a shield, I will definitely let you, an outsider who grew up in the Holy Silver Empire, know how powerful we, the old Wan people, are."

A beast tide is a natural disaster, but a beast tide that only attacks specific targets is undoubtedly a man-made disaster.

Under the order of the Bear Man, the sea monsters controlled by Frigga's Dressing Box each rushed towards the territory of a political enemy.

These political enemies are either secret supporters of Protestantism, or nationalists who believe in Taiwanese supremacy and refuse to accept church rule, or worshippers of the "King of the Wild Hunt."

At the very least, it is the co-leader of the Five Nations, who publicly declared that only the descendants of [Blue Dragon King] Reinhardt can be king!
No matter which type of people they are, they are obstacles to the bear man's successful ascension to the throne. Naturally, they are thorns in his flesh and thorns in his eyes.

In Ulysses's thoughts.

The beast tide was essentially a natural disaster, but with the protection of the [Queen of Eternal Night] afterwards, no one could openly accuse him of "accidentally" letting the beast tide in.

As for the secret methods, although these traditional "Taiwanese people's dragon head flag" masters sound fierce, they are not afraid of anyone compared to conspiracy methods.

Otherwise, what was revealed in the young earl's eyes was not hatred, but murderous intent.

Fortunately, after the sea monsters dispersed their attacks, their individual strength was not too strong. After the Earldom of Hordaland was attacked, it immediately alerted the coastal ports.

The private armies of the lords and the coastal defense forces of each port successfully killed the landing sea monsters after paying a certain price.

However, it also allowed the top leaders of the three countries in the Kalmar Alliance to personally feel the horror of this beast tide for the first time.

The most crucial thing is not the direct destructive power, but the "coelenteropathy" that is difficult to describe in words.

After infection, they will not only become aggressive towards other humans and terrestrial creatures, but will also degenerate into coelenterates with a mouth but no anus.

In other words, there is only one mouth left, and after digestion, the residue will be poured out the same way.

Even though a few adventurers had seen all kinds of weird things and had adapted to the appearance of coelenterates, this special physiological structure was still difficult for them to accept.

In their eyes, it is a hundred times more terrible than last year's coral disease.

"Your Excellency, we have captured as many infected soldiers alive as possible according to your orders. What should we do next?"

Several [Crow Doctors] and [Pharmacists] from the hospital hurried over to report the situation to Count Hordalan.

"Do you have any way to save people?"

Hearing the Earl's question, they all looked embarrassed, looked at each other, and then explained with a wry smile:
“Because medical skills involve the human body, the hospital sequence has been suppressed by the church for thousands of years.

Headaches and fevers can be treated with bloodletting. Common illnesses are either life or death, but no difficult or complicated diseases can be treated.

If someone can resist 'coelenteropathy' and eventually recover, we can try to use bloodletting and [blood healing potion] to combine and prepare an antidote.

But now there is obviously no such lucky person. Even if there is, even if his blood is drained, there will not be enough antidote.

There are two possible methods now.

First, seek help from the Church, summon a bishop of at least mid-level to preside over the mass ceremony, and try to use holy light to purify the abnormalities in the contaminated person.

The disadvantage is that it may cause great losses to the clergy, and Her Majesty the Queen has to step in.

But last year the church dispatched a large number of Temple Sequence Extraordinary People from our country to join the army, and the willingness and ability of the remaining clergy cannot be guaranteed.

Second one."

Although they didn't say it, everyone knew it.

Help - Black Magic!

In a place like the Kalmar Union, black magic is even more politically incorrect than in the Holy Silver Empire, the core diocese of the church. It is considered sinful just to think about it, let alone to speak it out loud.

The young count waved his hand vigorously at them:
"It is better to believe that I am the savior than to believe that the church is reliable."

As a lord, he knew exactly what kind of people those power-hungry clergymen of the Orthodox Church were.

They looked merciful when they occupied land, collected tithes, sold indulgences, blessed little boys, and spent hundreds of years and countless manpower and resources to build a cathedral, but they showed a completely different face when they were needed.

Many people have been dissatisfied with the church for a long time. The church does not only harm the Protestant nobles of the Holy Silver Empire, but also harms everyone equally.

Without this broad popular base, Protestantism would have no soil to grow.

Seeing the doctors' puzzled expressions, he finally said with a sullen face:
"Leave it to me, I'll figure it out."

When turning to leave, the doctors clearly saw that there was a human tattooed in the middle of the back of their master, who was covered in various tattoos, among a group of beasts.

He holds a spear and a scimitar, looks like a bandit, with two ravens perched on his shoulders and a saint's halo behind his head.

It is a mixture of traditional Taiwanese beliefs and elements of the Creator, and has a chaotic beauty.

Moreover, his face is a bit too abstract, and the style of painting is exactly the same as the other beasts on his body. I don’t know if it was the [Beast Tamer] who tattooed him, but they are all in the rough Fauvist style.

But the two lines of runes on the side reveal the identity of this human-shaped tattoo.

On the left is "King of the Wild Hunt", on the right is "Father of Medicine", and in the middle is "Keep me safe". Of course, there is nothing wrong if it is translated as "Safe entry and exit".

The earl has tattooed on his back an artistically processed image of Byron himself, and it’s “Byron with open eyes”!
Those who know the business would be worried about him.

It is obvious that this political enemy targeted by the Bear Man is an extreme admirer of the Wild Hunt King among the younger generation.

It seems that the reason for worshipping Byron is not for any other reason.

Just look at the other beasts on him and you will know that it is obvious that he thinks the [King of the Wild Hunt] is much more fierce and cruel than those beasts!

I just wonder whether Byron will give him "God's favor" or "God's punishment" after seeing with his own eyes the horrible way he ruined his own image.

On the other side, on the Faroe Islands, reinforcements arrived late.

The main force is the follow-up direct fleet that had not had time to gather before, and the privateering fleet and pirate fleet of the traditional church nobles are still behind.

creak creak
They had to stop the ship far away and walk through the snow to the frozen harbor which was littered with corpses and stranded warships.

The fleet had already received the news in advance that the Crown Prince [Bear Man]'s life gem had been shattered, and now it was just searching for the enemy's bodies and survivors, as well as restoring the full picture of the battlefield.

There were a total of seven fleets in the Hastings Strait that they regarded as opponents, four of which were main fleets. On average, each main fleet had about ten battleships of level three or above.

They are usually stationed in different ports to defend different waters. When a civil war breaks out in the country, they can be fully assembled and must be sent back immediately after the war.

The situation is similar in the Kalmar Union.

However, because this was a tripartite alliance with each country having its own administrative system, there were more factions within the army, and the nobles of the three countries each had their own interests.

A considerable number of the royal troops that were firmly controlled by the royal family had already been taken away by the Queen of Eternal Night to join the war in the Holy Silver Empire.

[Bear Man] has formulated a battle plan as soon as possible since receiving the order from the church.

Then persuade the neutral faction, continue to draw on the direct fleet, carry out internal rotation, and then travel at a speed of two knots. This whole process will take time.

All in all, it took less than a week.

The main force that has gathered in the Faroe Islands is slightly stronger than the main fleet of Hastings, with about a dozen battleships, dozens of cruisers, and a total of about 6,000 troops.

The two battles between [Queen of Eternal Night] and [Bear Man] have almost emptied the wealth of the Kalmar Alliance.

Their original plan was not to start another national war involving battleships with the Kingdom of Hastings.

They believed that the Strait Fleet had suffered heavy losses after a civil war, and that with colonies far larger than the Kalmar Union to garrison, the fleet would sooner or later be dispersed.

The brilliant anti-shipping fleet is going to the Bantaan Islands, the ghost fleet is going back to the southern continent's rift trench, and the pirate fleet is also going back to the pirate city Black Sail Port.
As long as he gathered his forces and waited for the right time, he could use the [Dressing Box] that contained a ruined demigod kingdom to pack up an entire fleet and directly raid the capital Kingston, which was garrisoned by no more than one main fleet.

Execute the decapitation tactics and destroy the center.

As long as he can kill King Saint Byron, the King of the Wild Hunt, who killed all the legitimate heirs, the entire Kingdom of Hastings will no longer have a legitimate heir.

But now, because of a sudden "natural disaster", everything is over.

All their ambitions and plans for hegemony were burned to ashes.

A translucent golden projection stood silently on the top of the dilapidated bastion like a stone sculpture, offering a panoramic view of the entire tragic battlefield.

Although they suffered a devastating defeat, their backs remained straight, as if nothing could bend them.

"Your Majesty, the preliminary investigation results are out."

A general came hurriedly and delivered a battlefield investigation report to the Queen of Eternal Night.

When Margaret I received the news that the Faroe Islands and the Alliance were hit by a beast tide and that her crown prince's life gem was shattered, she was still fighting for the church and was unable to respond immediately.

By the time she finished the war, having once again helped the church and the weak Habsburg dynasty win victory as a firefighter, and by the time she was reprojected back to her own naval port through the legal network, the situation was already hopeless, and she could only watch and supervise the reinforcements cleaning up the battlefield.

At this moment, his face was livid as he read word by word what the [Sheriff] had pieced together using [Scene Reconstruction] and various clues. The specific time and scale of the beast tide, the response of the garrison, and of course the evil behavior of the [Bear People] who diverted the beast tide to their homeland in order to protect themselves.

But these are not the point.

There were several hundred ordinary small sea monsters whose combat power was equivalent to that of fifth or sixth-tier cruisers or large armed merchant ships, a dozen large sea monsters whose combat power was equivalent to that of third or fourth-tier battleships, and one giant [Ancient King Whale] whose combat power was equivalent to that of first or second-tier battleships.

After the naval port was attacked, even if Ulysses sent away half of them, the remaining ones were enough to cause heavy losses to the equally powerful direct fleet.

Moreover, after the tragic victory, many of the defenders had been infected with "coelenteritis" and became secondary polluters, turning around to attack and kill their own comrades.

After they were dealt with, the only survivors were hundreds of Frost Giant Guards, and only a few hundred Transcendent officers and ordinary soldiers, totaling no more than a thousand.

The loss was more than two-thirds, which was extremely tragic.

Moreover, after the organization became disorganized, the commanders at all levels were lost, and without a core, the effect of rallying the troops was almost non-existent.

But what happened next seemed to be interfered with by a higher being, and nothing could be seen clearly.

Considering the scene was littered with corpses of frozen soldiers, and the Frost Giant Guards who were finally bitten to death by sea monsters, it can be inferred that some kind of accident must have occurred in the end.

There was no sign of invasion by human enemies, but rather it seemed as if a superior clan from the deep sea had launched a sneak attack on the [Bear People], which eventually affected the remaining survivors and left no one alive.

To be more precise, not even a soul was left.

They all disappeared along with [Bear Man] Ulysses.

This situation is somewhat similar to the Abaddon Cult that appeared in the previous War for the Throne of Hastings, but it is difficult to lock on the target.

[Queen of Eternal Night] put down the documents in her hand and looked towards the direction of her homeland.

The crown prince she chose was dead and that was all over, but there was still a turmoil in the country that she had to deal with for some time to come.

“Order, issue the highest level gag order now.

Crown Prince [Bearman] Ulysses was undoubtedly a hero as he fought to the last moment to protect the people of the Alliance when facing the beast tide.

The church was invited to hold a memorial service for him in the name of the royal family.

The sea monsters that attacked the major ports were accidents, not his fault, and no one should make arbitrary comments. "

The general beside him nodded.

This was the tone the Queen set for the incident, to prevent others from finding an excuse to attack their church in the future.

The truth of the matter is not important; what is important is the "truth" that the superiors want.

Then he reported to Margaret I:

"Your Majesty, the lords have reported that they want you to order the church to hold a mass ceremony to try to purify the soldiers of the 'coelenteritis'. Please see..."

【Queen of Eternal Night】is silent.

In fact, she had already asked the saint, but the answer she received was not unexpected.

It’s just another bunch of indulgences of “zero negative reviews”.

We ask these converts to understand the difficulties of the church. There are wars everywhere now, and there is no way to allocate elite personnel to hold ceremonies.

Let the Kalmar Union and the Church overcome the difficulties together, and when we defeat the Protestants and successfully obtain the position of "Captain", we will definitely reserve several good positions for them in heaven, and even make them angels.

If Byron were here, he would see that this was the "I, the First Emperor, want money" routine.

But for superstitious people, they believe it firmly.

I can't let myself down but I can't let the church down, so I can only let the soldiers suffer.

As for seeking help from black magic?
Even when his own grandson got tuberculosis, he had to endure it, let alone a group of soldiers?
In the end, the queen could only say with compassion:

"Deliver my decree to all coastal lords to destroy all those infected with coelenteritis along with the sea monsters."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The general was about to leave when the queen called him back.

"Tell the lords not to panic and to prepare for an attack. As soon as the war in the empire stabilizes, I will ask the saint to return to the kingdom to take charge of the situation."

As long as the rulers of the countries in the Old World are not blind, they know very well that as the "Age of Luan Yan" draws closer, the external situation will only get worse.

The first beast wave only attacked the Faroe Islands and the territories of a group of dissidents, but by the time the second beast wave came, it was no longer possible to attack specific targets.

All coastal countries need to strengthen their military at this time and prepare to face repeated attacks.

Obviously, even though the Queen of Eternal Night has encountered the tragic news of the death of the crown prince and heavy losses of her direct line, she is still thinking of a compromise.

They want to please the church, but they don’t want the local people to suffer.

Typical both want and want.

But they fail to realize that the identities of hunter and prey are not absolute.

When there is a vacuum in her power somewhere, naturally someone else will come to help her fill the gap.

Especially when the interests of the opposition nobles are repeatedly damaged, the process of power transfer will be faster than usual.

Compared to Byron's "Holy Spirit" and "Winged Angel", power is more like using the false to achieve the true.

If the subjects all feel that the royal power is supreme, then the king is truly the one who speaks the law and has the final say within his own territory.

If the subjects no longer support the monarchy, the crown is just a piece of jewelry.

The source of power is not divine right, but the one with the strongest army and the most powerful horse becomes king!
Even if you are a monarch, you must make as many friends as possible and kill as few enemies as possible, and especially you must firmly consolidate your base.

It’s not that the [Queen of Eternal Night] doesn’t understand this principle, but she really doesn’t have much time left.

It has to be radical!
After everything was arranged, she terminated the projection and returned to the tent on the front line.

"Ugh!"

He sighed deeply and pinched his eyebrows tiredly.

Only after leaving his native land did he dare to show a trace of weakness and sadness on his face.

A male bishop in a black robe beside her comforted her solemnly:
“Your Majesty, the Creator is almighty and He will surely see your piety and grant you the glory of the Lord.

All warriors who died for the church will go to heaven to enjoy happiness, you should be happy for them."

During the Dark Millennium, there was almost no such thing as schools. All knowledge was passed on by the church, and many officials who assisted the monarch were clergymen.

Bishop Gilderoy Lockhart, who was beside Margaret I, was the liaison officer sent by the church to her and also the royal priest.

Hearing his words, the queen's eyes gradually became full of fighting spirit again, and she nodded and said:
"Yes, for the future of the Taiwanese people, any sacrifice is worth it.

The soldiers can sacrifice, my grandson Eric can sacrifice, my granddaughter Violet can sacrifice, and even I can sacrifice!

When the final disaster strikes, the nobles and the people will surely understand my choice."

He stood up, tapped his chest four times, saluted the priest beside him, strode out of the tent and began to organize his troops in preparation for the next battle with the Protestant princes.

Bishop Gilderoy Lockhart did not follow, but sat back at his desk, took out a book and began to copy with a pious look on his face.

The cover is the "Gospel of Creation" which does not involve any supernatural powers, but the content is a forbidden book "Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven"!
Only those high-ranking officials above the level of saints knew that the Creator was constantly breaking apart. To vaguely sense the problem, one had to be at least a cardinal.

They all agreed to keep the secret strictly, otherwise people's hearts would be broken along with the Creator, and this team, which was already full of different thoughts, would be even more difficult to lead.

A large number of middle and lower-level clergy in both sects do not know the truth.

After the Orthodox Church spread the "Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven", it immediately became like Pandora's Box, which could never be closed after it was opened.

Pious clergymen want to get closer to the Creator through this book of scriptures filled with the Creator's knowledge.

Less devout clergymen seek to gain power or even immortality through this forbidden book.

Bishop Gilderoy Lockhart was a man who had both. He wanted to get closer to the Creator and gain power, so he secretly found a copied version and studied it a month or two ago.

There are many clergymen like him.

Holy light flashed in the bishop's eyes:

“I have read the whole thing three times and copied it out again.

I have gradually sensed the gaze of an angel falling on me.

I have a feeling that I will soon gain His favor.

I hope that with the blessing of the Creator, I can gain something tonight.

I really want to improve!"

At the same time, Byron had already returned to Ganquan Palace.

After a sumptuous dinner, he immediately placed his spoils in front of his two sisters like presenting treasures.

Especially the [Frigga's Dressing Box], which can be used by both sisters.

This legendary queen of gods was greedy for money, and the name "Frigga" is the origin of Friday.

It is exactly the same as the vest "Ms. Friday" that Catherine used in the financial street, and they are very compatible.

The Golden Mist Palace, Fensaril, is composed of sea water, clouds, gold and silver treasures, which is consistent with the nature of Violet, the "War Witch" and the future "Whale Oil Mechanic".

Violet is also the direct descendant of the Queen of God, so it is even easier for her to master this treasure.

Because of the "acquaintance" relationship, using it can also save a lot of money.

The key is
"No matter which of them digests this dressing box, they can differentiate into twelve divine incarnations of various sizes.

I want twelve sisters or twelve little witches. Just thinking about it makes me excited. I really want them to be promoted to level five as soon as possible."

However, the owner of the box has not yet been decided.

Byron's heart suddenly moved, and he heard a prayer that was trying to suppress excitement:

"Ah! Praise the angel of ten thousand wings!"

(End of this chapter)