The King of Sera invited the Archbishop of the Church, Archbishop Adriana, to the Royal Palace. There, she and the King had a conversation about the relationship between the Church and the kingdom. Many nobles and clergy members of the Church also accompanied them.
The discussion was naturally heated, but Archbishop Adriana remained silent throughout, calmly observing the noisy crowd in the Royal Palace.
The nobles only agreed to half of the King's proposal, because those parts would expand their own interests; they were not satisfied with the other half.
As for the Church, almost none of the clergy were willing to accept it, because past practices had already provided the Church with enough benefits, and they could command the nobles.
They were unwilling to accept the new changes, believing that Sera King was weakening the power of the Church and their own.
"As you can see, the Sera Kingdom has been established for less than two years. We do not have enough resources to maintain an army. If possible, the Sera Kingdom would prefer to support the war between the Church and the Empire through financial means."
"Too many people have died on the noble lands. Last year, due to the lack of able-bodied men, we relied on grain purchased from the merchant guild for the entire year, which cost us a lot of money."
"In the new year, I do not want the nobles of my kingdom to still need to obtain food supplies through purchases."
"We need our people. The best outcome would be if war were to break out within twenty years, because that would allow us to restore the kingdom's population."
The King's authority was beyond question, and the nobles could outwardly comply but inwardly defy him, but the King's orders were issued at this moment.
"From this moment forward, the Sera Kingdom will be under a state of military freeze. No noble, including the church, is permitted to assemble an army without the King's order."
The King issued the order, and the nobles of the Sera Kingdom had no right to object. The clergy looked to Archbishop Adriana, who was the only one who could veto the King's order.
But until the very end, Adriana remained silent, coldly observing everyone.
Thus, the kingdom's new policy was decided.
The meeting ended, and everyone was preoccupied.
"Rejection is inevitable. They cannot make the King rescind his orders, but they choose to obey or not to obey. The King forbids military wars, but the nobles have many irrefutable reasons. Just like Valencia's declaration of war, which risked all his dignity, the nobles found it difficult to intervene. This is nobility among nobles."
Inside the manor, Ryan also received an order from the King: the more the King restricts things, the more likely war and conflict will break out.
"If you want the nobles to comply, you have to show them the consequences of refusal."
"To get the Church to comply, you have to show the Church the benefits."
Can money corrupt the faith of those clergy members of the Church?
Ryan couldn't help but ask himself, and came to a rough conclusion.
"They were corrupted long ago."
Following the King's decree, a group of Wandering Nobles were granted Noble Title and land by the Sera Kingdom.
Most of the Noble Title were Lordship, with a few Baron. As for the land, it was all in disputed areas. The Sera Kingdom was founded because of war, and the result of the war was that a large amount of land was forcibly divided. Many nobles did not recognize it, but the kingdom's records showed that the land did not belong to any particular noble.
This resulted in the fact that, under the King's orders, while the land was occupied by the nobles, it was also given by the King to those Wandering Nobles.
"You have to give something to get something."
"I can give you the power to reclaim your land, but what will you offer in exchange?"
Ryan found some Wandering Nobles and told them that if they wanted to take over the lands granted to them by the King, they needed the power to protect those lands, which was what the Wandering Nobles lacked most.
Because of their nomadic lifestyles, the training rate for knights was pitifully low. They had no land to grow food, no wild animals to hunt, and not even money.
Knowledge is their only wealth.
"My family once produced a Saint Realm Mages who left behind precious magic books, which recorded more than thirty powerful spells..."
"My ancestor was once a Sky Knight, and his life's work was condensed into Knight Combat Technique..."
Ryan obtained a large number of extraordinary inheritances from these Wandering Nobles without shedding a drop of blood, making up for the scarcity of extraordinary inheritances in the Frozen Earth Territory. It was just a pity that there were no Legendary-tier inheritances among them.
Come to think of it, the creation of Legendary in the past was the privilege of people who could change the course of history. The families of such people, even if they were not extremely prosperous, were able to accumulate a vast amount of wealth by having a Legendary protect the noble family for at least several hundred years.
Such nobles either disappear completely into history, or they always leave something behind so that they don't become Wandering Nobles.
Ryan cooled the boiled water, falsely claiming it was Life Potion unique to the Frozen Earth Territory, and gave it to the people chosen by these Wandering Nobles, bestowing upon them Spirituality Blessing as they drank it.
"These potions will deplete your life force, and your lifespan will be shorter than that of ordinary knights."
Ryan said this, and the people in front of him all had resolute eyes.
"We are willing to give our lives so that our family can rise again."
In order to regain their noble status, the Wandering Nobles are really going all out.
With their improved combat capabilities, they began to recruit soldiers and buy horses, or more accurately, to lease and borrow them. Among them were a large number of people lent to them by Ryan, who were people who had been enslaved in the Ryan Manor during the war.
The remaining manpower came from the noble territories of the Sera Kingdom, those that originally followed the McReynolds Family, such as the Count Fragoso Family, who had defected from the Andara Kingdom and become part of the Sera Kingdom.
The three major factions of the kingdom are: Count Fragoso, who were loyal followers of the new dynasty; the nobles who later migrated south from the Andara Kingdom; and the nobles from the four major noble territories that originally existed in the Sera Kingdom.
The first group of nobles were naturally carefree, but the latter two groups had many conflicts and were not so close to the royal family. It can be said that the first group were staunch royalists, the second group were factions pursuing their own interests, and the third group were simply victims. Their resentment towards MacReynolds will probably not disappear for a hundred years.
As luck would have it, the lands acquired by the Wandering Nobles under the King's orders were all closer to the lands of the third group of Natives nobles.
"You have already paid the price for gaining power, and for gaining land, I hope you will not betray His Majesty the King's trust in you."
Ryan's words sent chills down the spines of the Wandering Nobles.
"Don't worry, Lord Ryan, we... will absolutely not let them live."
The Wandering Nobles would seek revenge against their enemies, something each of them had experienced firsthand. So if they could, they would absolutely be willing to eliminate them completely, because they knew very well that the land they had acquired was obtained by seizing the territory of those nobles.
The most crucial point is that Ryan himself told them they could wipe them out completely.
"This land needs a new batch of nobles, nobles belonging to the Sera Kingdom, not those who claim to be the rightful Descendant of Carlos."
Despite the establishment of the Sera Kingdom, hidden dangers still exist. The most obvious of these are the nobles who fled and claimed to be the direct descendants of Carlos. They received a lot of help and support from nobles in the South lands and loudly proclaimed in noble circles that they wanted to take revenge on MacReynolds and reclaim their land.
Beset by internal and external troubles, the Sera Kingdom has it all.
This was also one of the forces that persuaded King MacReynolds to agree to Ryan's idea. The establishment of the kingdom was by no means smooth sailing; it was accompanied by blood and fire that would burn any nobleman who tried to overthrow the rule.
For one day, then two, the atmosphere within the Sera Kingdom was eerily quiet.
On the fifth day, chaos erupted. The army formed by the Wandering Nobles, carrying the King's orders, went to their lands and, unsurprisingly, found that another noble had taken up residence there.
"This is Lord Fischer's territory! What are you doing here?!"
The Fisher Family shouted, but the other side, of course, would not give up the land they had cultivated for over a hundred years. The battle broke out between hoes and pitchforks, and intensified before the Knight's Greatsword.
Valencia Barony.
As the most outstanding representative among the Wandering Nobles, the Baron of Valencia had to put in even more effort. They finally received news that Archbishop Adriana had not traded anything with Baron Mendes, and the Archbishop left the Baron territory in disappointment.
"Revenge! Revenge! Revenge for Zar!"
The Valencia Family, along with Connie Dean, who is seeking revenge for his brother, once again lead their army to attack Mendes Barony.
In less than three days, the two armies tacitly broke through the defenses of Mendes Barony, forcing Baron Mendes to declare defeat and surrender.
"My brother died above you, and Mendes must pay the price."
Connie said angrily, and then obtained ownership of the Forest from Baron Mendes, along with monetary compensation.
He had killed all of Mendes' knights and returned to the Deane Family in triumph. For a time, the reputation of Connie's heir overshadowed that of Baron Dean.
Next up is Valencia.
"The dignity of the Valencia Family must not be desecrated!"
In terror and despair, Baron Kaeld Valencia killed Baron Mendes, along with more than a hundred members of the Mendes Family. The Baron's castle was reduced to ruins in the ensuing fire.
In the darkness illuminated by the flames, Kaeld trembled with fear. He had killed all of Mendes's men, and even if tomorrow morning it was announced that Baron Mendes had knocked over a candle due to the defeat in the war, causing the fire, it wouldn't change the nobles' suspicions about 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, and similarly, for the King's orders to be carried out, nobles like Mendes who disobey the King's orders must die.
"I was right, out of loyalty to His Majesty the King."
Kaeld kept brainwashing himself, and gradually, he no longer felt fear as he looked at the castle engulfed in flames ahead.
Baron Mendes was the first noble family to be wiped out, but there were many nobles caught in the flames of war in this kingdom, and the ferocity of those Wandering Nobles was as savage as that of the Orcs in the Northlands.
They had nothing left, so they were willing to risk their lives to plunder.
Furthermore, Ryan gained even more inherited knowledge, including an entire Knight Breathing Technique that could become Legendary.
" The Violet Knight Breathing Technique originates from an ancient kingdom on the Norris Continent."
" The Northlands submerged everything, but his ancestors were knights of the Violet Family who preserved the Breathing Technique."
"It's very precious, but it's unlikely to be a unique copy."
Ryan was very satisfied, and then generously bestowed more blessings upon the Wandering Nobles, granting him soldiers with the physique of hundreds of Apprentice Knight.
Don't underestimate this number of one hundred. Even a Baron can't muster that many elite warriors. While Baron in the Empire might be able to squeeze some out, Baron in the Kingdom simply couldn't afford to raise that many.
Thus, a second noble family was wiped out, and this time, the cause could not be excused by the unstoppable fire in the night.
Because it happened during the day on the battlefield, everyone was killed in full view of everyone.
The remaining nobles caught in the war finally began to feel fear. They began to plead for help, not from the King, but from four major noble families, represented by the Grand Duke Carlos's Family.
There are only five and a half great nobles in the Sera Kingdom. Ryan is the half, and the remaining five, except for Count Fragoso, are all of Carlos blood.
On the lands of the Sera Kingdom, they still wield considerable power and resources, such as the Obsidian Vein, which have made Grand Duke Carlos a wealthy nobleman on par with the royal family.
The Griffin Legion, having suffered heavy losses in countless wars and been hidden deep in the mountains, has finally taken to the skies of the Sera Kingdom once again.
To be precise, it refers to the skies over those four great noble territories.
Otto, leading the group, brandished a heavy hammer and warned the nobles not to forget why they had submitted to him. He also made it clear to Grand Duke Carlos that the Divine Wind Legion had been completely annihilated and that they had no supernatural power to oppose the royal family.
The King has issued an order prohibiting the outbreak of military war within the kingdom. Although bloody wars are currently raging in many parts of the kingdom, the King can turn a blind eye to it.
However, the King always has a keen eye when it comes to the great nobles assembling their armies.
I have already issued orders that military conflict is not allowed, so why are you still starting a war?
When the Griffin Legion descends from the sky, these nobles will be unable to defend themselves. Whether they question the King or reject King orders, they will have to pay a heavy price to appease him. Faced with the Griffin Legion, the four nobles will have to compromise.
Driven by self-interest, the four nobles had no choice but to turn a blind eye to the ongoing war throughout the kingdom, which fueled the Wandering Nobles ' frenzy, causing them to tear at the flesh of other nobles like mad dogs.
The politics of the Sera Kingdom became two distinct sides: the nobles backed by the King, Ryan, and Fragoso, and the nobles backed by four great nobles. It seemed that none of them were involved in the chaos on the kingdom's lands, but in reality, everyone in the chaos was a pawn in their political struggles.
If the King wins, King orders will be executed perfectly; if the four nobles win, then the King's previous orders can be disregarded.
Power is changing hands, and in some places the change has already been completed.
Valencia Barony.
Despite the ruins, the church remains bright and beautiful, and people come and go to pray inside.
This was originally the church of the Mendes Barony, but now it is the church of the Valencia Barony.
" Father Connally? Have you finished your prayers for today?"
Baron Kaeld Valencia watched as the priest emerged from the church. As if anticipating his arrival, the priest withdrew his hand from the nun's and praised the glory of the Dawn to the Baron.
"Praise the Dawn, for the greatness of the Dawn is beyond doubt."
"That's what I said," Kaeld said, and then had his servants bring over the wooden crates.
The priest's eyes lit up when the box was opened, revealing a large number of dirty copper coins, but he was completely captivated by a box containing silver coins.
"This is the tax revenue that belonged to the Church within the Baron's territory last year."
" The King's decree is to grant the Church the right to collect taxes within the Sera Kingdom. Starting this year, all nobles must obey the King's decree."
Father Connally was somewhat puzzled by what Kaeld said.
"But you said this was from last year."
"Yes, Father, but you must understand that the taxes that the Sera Kingdom pays to the Church are for the Church of Dawn, not for you."
"The priest was merely acting on behalf of the Church to collect taxes from this Baron territory."
"This is from last year, but the King's order only began to be implemented this year."
Father Connally understood. His breathing quickened as he stared intently at the small box full of silver coins and reached out.
Kaeld reached out and grasped the priest's hand, saying earnestly:
"Taxes will be paid to the Church starting this year, but Father, as you know, my territory doesn't have a large population..."
"There are only about five hundred subjects."
There are more than five hundred Baron, but the Church doesn't know that.
"Each citizen must pay the Church sixty copper coins, averaging five copper coins per month, without a doubt."
Father Connally spoke righteously, having understood what Kaeld meant, and continued:
" Baron Valencia, your territory has only five hundred subjects."
"I, Father Connally, have been here for decades, and I can't be wrong about the number."
Kaeld laughed and pulled the priest's hand into the box of silver coins. The gleaming silver coins made the priest's hand tremble slightly.
He never actually owned that much money.