Throne of the North.

Chapter 539: Sign a pledge of allegiance to Gerald!
The Vatican had no choice but to force Gerald to become an ally of Ryan and Count Pascal.

This is not the trouble Gerald is facing now.

It was the Kingdom of Kolan.

"We have once again snatched food back from the imperial army. This is a victory worth celebrating."

This is Gerald's description.

The Kingdom of Coran rebuked Gerald for his shamelessness.

"Damn it, they robbed? What did they rob? Our army of two thousand people was slaughtered by that terrible army. Are those slave soldiers led by Noble Gerald more powerful than the army of the Kingdom of Coran?"

"They are lying! The shameless Gerald has colluded with the Empire and is plundering our wealth!"

The Kingdom of Kolan cursed Gerald for his shamelessness, especially the Grand Duke of Galen. He would never admit that his army was so weak, as that would seriously affect his interests and status within the Kingdom of Kolan.

At the same time, he would not believe that Gerald was so powerful. That bloodline had already declined. They were just a noble chief now. It was impossible for them to snatch food back from the imperial cavalry.

"They took away a lot of our resources without spending a single gold coin, and they also killed our soldiers and slaves. The Kingdom of Kolan will never be insulted by this."

"Even the Holy See has no right to order us to continue transporting supplies to Gerald. The Kingdom of Kolan will never compromise!"

"Gerald must hand over the culprit and compensate the Kingdom of Coran for all losses. They have seriously affected the war between Dawn and the Empire. They have colluded with the evil Empire!"

There was chaos in the Kingdom of Kolan, and the nobles were indignant and shouting, because this was now their political correctness.

Because only by uniting in this way can they keep the food in their hands and stop sending it to supply the north.

The nobles are selfish. They would never want their supplies to appear in a war that does not belong to them. What is happening now gives them a perfect excuse.

The unity of these nobles also ruined Gerald's reputation and affected the clergy of the Dawn Church in the Kingdom of Coran.

The archbishop angrily questioned whether Gerald's faith was loyal and firm, and the clergy followed behind him and clamored to punish Gerald. Gerald must pay enough atonement money!
In short, Gerald has been hated by everyone in the Kingdom of Colan. None of these are important. The important thing is that there is no food.

At this moment, the two earls, Mo Tong and Jin Tong, became panicked again. The food they had was used to sustain the lives of some slaves, and now there was not much time left for the remaining rations to continue the war.

“What will we do when food runs out again?”

"Damn the Kingdom of Kolan! This is a war between the Church of the Dawn and the Empire. Has their faith been shaken? They even stopped providing food!"

Earl Mo Tong was furious. In this war, only Gerald was injured from the beginning to the end, but those southern nobles were no longer willing to provide even basic supplies.

"They suspect we are in league with the Empire."

"How is that possible! No one wants victory in the war more than us. We need to plunder enough food from the land of the Andara Kingdom."

"They are not doubting us, but they are unwilling to admit their own weakness. The army of a frontier baron of the empire actually defeated the army of a grand duke of the Kingdom of Kolan. It was simply a massacre."

"They are unwilling and afraid to admit it, so they can only blame us, Gerald."

"Damn you Coran nobles, you ignorant and conceited fellows!"

If the two earls thought about it, they would know exactly what was going on. Collusion with the Empire was not the key point at all. There was no such thing as collusion among the nobles. Everything was just for profit, just like the Empire's Chamber of Commerce could still trade in the southern lands a few years ago, and the Holy See did not care.

Is that collusion too?

"Our rebuttal is hollow and without foundation, but it doesn't matter. As long as we win the war, we will take everything back. But now... what about the food?"

Count Zeton Gerald Mo Tong was angry. Why did those people from the Empire let the army of the Kingdom of Kolan escape?
He sighed, but he also understood that it was unrealistic to massacre everyone. This would affect the reputation of the imperial baron, so some people would definitely be able to escape back. The nobles in the Kolan army had the power to redeem themselves.

So he would not think that Ryan had colluded with the Kingdom of Kolan.

"We can still sustain our food for a few days, but by the time that time comes, Pastor Yawen will probably come knocking on our door again."

They didn't know how to continue facing Pastor Yawen's questioning for food.

However, the two earls did not expect that Pastor Yawen, a priest who was here to atone for sins, would arrive faster than expected.

Ever since the last sudden food shortage led to the defeat in the war, Pastor Yawen has paid much more attention to this matter. He checks the granary every day to make sure that there will not be any food left when he discovers it one day.

Moreover, as a legend, Pastor Yawen's power allows him to hear a lot of news.

Based on the fact that no food had been delivered in the past two days and the angry exchanges between the Gerald Knights towards the Kingdom of Kolan, Pastor Yawen also realized something.

“Why hasn’t any food been delivered in the past two days?”

Pastor Alvin once again visited the two earls. He needed more food. At least ten days of food reserves had to be stored in the warehouse before Pastor Alvin could feel at ease.

Count Mo Tong glanced at his uncle, and Count Jin Tong hesitated before speaking:
"We are trying to find a solution. Pastor Yawen, please give us some time. We will urge the nobles in the south to transport food to the north as soon as possible."

Reverend Yawen was not a man who was easily deceived, he stared at the earl and asked.

"But I heard that the Kingdom of Kolan is no longer willing to provide you with food. Apart from the Kingdom of Kolan, no noble in the south can deliver food here within ten days."

"We must win this battle for the faith of the Lord."

Count Mo Tong gritted his teeth. If Pastor Yawen did not represent the faith war of the Holy See and was not powerful enough, he would probably have cursed these people for their shameless behavior of just coming and eating.

"Your Excellency the Reverend, we have urged the Kingdom of Kolan to abandon the faith of Dawn. They are preventing Dawn from winning the war."

Pastor Yawen doesn't care about these things, he is just a pastor.

"After the war, I will naturally tell His Holiness the Pope about this matter."

"But now, I need food."

The two earls were a little annoyed by the question and no longer spoke in a tactful manner.

"We will continue to urge them. Fifteen days ago, the Duke of Kingston in the west of the Kingdom of Coran sent back a letter saying that a batch of food was on the way and would arrive in the next two days. The supplies of other nobles in the southern lands are also on the way, and they will gradually sustain the expenses of this war."

"That's good... But I'm worried that the army of the baron from the empire will attack the food transport again. We must not let them rob us again."

Pastor Yawen's eyes were cold. He had never imagined that the mighty and high-spirited Crusaders would be tripped up by such a trivial matter as food when they came to the north. It was all because of the baron of the empire.

"I will let a legend follow you. In addition, Gerald's army will go to the south to bring back food in the next few days. As long as they come back safely, we can defeat the Andara Kingdom."

The protection of a legend made the two earls feel at ease. They must not let the imperialists rob them of their supplies this time, or even kill them by surprise.

They had no doubt about the legendary fighting ability.

however……

One day, two days, three days.

Gerald's army returned to the south, and all the pressure on the front battlefield was placed on the Crusaders. They were waiting for the grain transport team to arrive from the south, their eyes full of anticipation, but gradually turned into confusion.

They did not wait for the attack from the imperial cavalry, nor did they wait for the supply convoy from the south.

"Where's the food?"

The knights patrolled a wide area, almost touching the border of the Kingdom of Kolan, but they still saw no trace of food.

"Where's the food?"

Earl Gerald was anxious. The promised grain had been transported twenty days ago and should have arrived by now. Did they deceive Gerald?

The nobles would not joke about their honor and dignity, but what about food?

Gerald's knights finally entered the Kingdom of Coran to inquire, but were quickly driven back.

"The shameless Gerald robbed the wealth of the Kingdom of Kolan and insidiously colluded with the Empire to launch a surprise attack on the kingdom's army. They must repay all the losses of Kolan." The answer is obvious. The supplies transported by the southern nobles can only enter Gerald's land through the Kingdom of Kolan. When they were in the Kingdom of Kolan, all the supplies were intercepted.

The Kingdom of Kolan had supported Gerald with a lot of supplies during the Orc War, and then provided another large amount of support during this War of Faith. No matter how wealthy a family they were, they were reluctant to give up their wealth. Now that they had fallen out with Gerald, they directly intercepted the supplies sent to Gerald halfway.

The nobles divided the food among themselves, and then after they had finished dividing it, you wanted them to spit out what they had eaten?

Don't even think about it.

"So... what do we do now? Declare war on the Kingdom of Kolan?"

This is impossible. They cannot win, nor can they start a war. The pressure of war with the Andara Kingdom in the west is enormous.

After a long time without seeing new food, Pastor Alvin appeared again. He was more anxious than last time because there was not much left in the Crusaders' granary.

“Why is there still no food?”

"The beliefs of the Kingdom of Kolan have changed, and they intercepted the supplies sent to us!"

"Those shameless Coran nobles no longer support this war, no longer support Dawn!"

Count Golden Eyes said loudly, he no longer had any self-control. The two extraordinary legions from the Andara Kingdom put too much pressure on Gerald's territory. The two earls had not had a good night's sleep during this period.

Not a single grain of food arrived, and Pastor Yawen was also angry. He wanted to know what the Kingdom of Kolan was doing, but he had no way to question it now. He was a priest of atonement, and he had no identity or power. Moreover, as one of the nine kingdoms on the Norris continent, the Kingdom of Kolan had a huge church system, and those clergy had great power on the Holy Mountain. If he questioned them, the bishops and archbishops behind those priests, or the men in red robes, might clamor for the trial of the Crusaders.

The cardinal has the power to punish through consultation, after all, the Pope cannot take charge of all matters alone.

Pastor Yawen also wants to protect his reputation, after all, he has to return to the system of the Dawn Church.

"No matter what, the food must be delivered. Didn't you seize it from the imperial army before? Then keep on stealing."

"Your Excellency the Reverend, do you think this is so easy? Why don't you say that we will defeat the Gargoyle Legion and the Witch Ghost Legion tomorrow and rush into the land of the Andara Kingdom?"

"It only takes less than a day to reach the capital of the Andara Kingdom from here."

"Hmph, then how did you do it before? Were the grains given to you by the Empire? Are what the nobles of the Kingdom of Kolan said true? Are you colluding with the Empire?"

Pastor Yawen's question choked the two earls.

"Of course not possible."

The two sides were at war, but the nobles on both sides were conducting shady deals in secret. No noble would show off this, and considering the impact of the war, no noble would take the initiative to speak out.

So at the beginning, the two earls said that they had snatched food back from the imperial army.

At the beginning, they could not admit that they had carried out secret transactions. Later, when the situation became increasingly unfavorable, they could not say it even more, because they would be accused and slandered that their failure was caused by secret collusion with the empire.

Shifting the blame is an instinct for anyone who is mired in failure. If the war can be blamed on Gerald's shady dealings with the imperial nobles at the beginning of the war, then does the guilt of others disappear?

Just like at this moment, if Pastor Yawen was given a choice, should he admit the failure of the war, or argue that the failure of the war was due to the influence of some fact that happened to Gerald?
It's a no-brainer to choose the latter.

It makes sense, and it is precisely because of this that the two Earls Gerald would never take the initiative to reveal such evidence to others.

But now, the boomerang suddenly hit them again.

Pastor Yawen stared coldly at the two earls and asked the Moonlight Knight beside him to put his hand on the hilt of his sword. The atmosphere between the two sides was cold and depressing at this moment.

The oppression of legend is not pleasant.

"Your troops are all at the front, snatching food from the imperial army. You only have those slave troops. Can they be stronger than the army of the Kingdom of Kolan and snatch food from the hands of the imperial cavalry?"

Of course, the suspicion and questioning of the Kingdom of Kolan cannot be without basis and reason, as that would only make people laugh.

But what if the underlying logic is a comparison between Gerald's slave army and the regular army of the Kingdom of Kolan, which one is stronger?
No one would doubt the result of this comparison. Gerald's slave army was definitely no match for the kingdom's regular army.

The latter are being slaughtered, while the former are robbing?
That's where the contradiction lies.

The two earls said nothing. Since they did not tell the truth at first, it was impossible for them to tell it later to refute their past selves.

The king is not joking, they are the monarchs of this territory.

The atmosphere became increasingly tense and depressing. Tiffany, the legendary Moonlight Knight, sighed, and the sound instantly destroyed all the tense atmosphere.

"Gerald has absolutely no collusion with the Empire, and we all want this war to be won."

"Pastor Yawen, there is no need to doubt our loyalty to Dawn."

Pastor Yawen naturally had no doubts. As a rational and intelligent pastor, he knew very well that any noble territory caught up in the wheels of the two behemoths, the Dawn Church and the Flor Empire, would have to pay a huge price for failure.

The foundations of the two giants will not be shaken, but the losing side, Gerald or the Kingdom of Andara, will suffer decades or even hundreds of years of decline in the future, and they are still neighbors.

Gerald must want to win, otherwise they will lose everything.

"Without sufficient food, our army will not be able to maintain its combat effectiveness. The losses of the Witch and Ghost Legion and the Gargoyle Legion have been greater than ours these days. As long as we continue this war, we will easily win."

"You don't want to lose the war, do you?"

"Then continue to 'rob' the imperial army's food."

Pastor Yawen left, and he didn't care anymore. Whatever happened, as long as the food was there, it was fine.

After the priest left, the two earls looked at each other, both of them looked pale. The oppression of the legend was not so easy to bear.

"What should we do now? Do we have to buy food from Baron Ryan?"

"He will definitely ask for a lot. He is probably just waiting for us to take the initiative to buy it, and then Gerald's wealth will be stolen by him."

"Greedy and shameless guy!"

"We have no other choice. The nobles of the Kingdom of Kolan are now united against us. Anyone who dares to express a different opinion will be drowned out by other nobles."

"Damn it! Why did this war happen when we haven't finished the war against the orcs yet!"

If it weren't for the war of full-scale invasion of orcs in the past few years that consumed all of Gerald's supplies, they would not have fallen into their current desperate situation.

Helpless, the two earls, who had thought for a long time and had no other solution, could only contact the fox-skin Brunamigis. They needed to buy food from Baron Ryan and were willing to pay a high price.

Bruneggis stared at the people in front of him with wide eyes, a little surprised that these people actually came here on their own initiative.

He cleared his throat and said:
"My Lord Ryan's original words were, 'It's ridiculous. I am a baron of the Empire and the commander of the East Territory in the Andara Kingdom War. Do you want me to actively help the enemy and betray the Empire and provide food to the enemy to kill my soldiers?'"

Brunamigis said, looking at Kemon and others in front of him.

The meaning is simple: I won’t sell it anymore.

"However, as a transaction has been made, our Lord Ryan still retains some friendship towards Gerald. He does not think that Gerald has lost all the resources to supply the war."

"You are still rich, but you may not even realize it."

"We broke into the manors of the knights in your Earl Gerald's territory before, but we didn't find any wealth. However, we don't regret it."

"We have gained tens of thousands of gold coins, from the manor farms of no less than twenty knights."

"If you don't believe it, just ask this guy yourself."

Behind the fox-skinned Bruna Migis, a brown bear pushed over a disheveled clergyman in the white robe of a Vatican priest, whose face was filled with fear.

(End of this chapter)