The Southern Continent had been developing quietly for over eighty years, but ultimately it could not escape the saying that "the world, after a long period of division, will unite; after a long period of unity, will divide."
Just as the Blood Court and the Boya Empire were developing rapidly, the Papal State, which had been silent for a long time, suddenly launched an attack on the surrounding small countries.
With a wave of his hand, His Majesty Adam summoned thousands of Church knights, along with two hundred thousand Church soldiers and five thousand Werewolf, to the battlefield. In three months, they captured fifteen cities in succession, and forcibly destroyed half of the territory of a small kingdom called ' Kate ' that bordered the Papal State.
However, His Majesty Adam's methods this time were extremely strange. Not only did he not massacre the people again, but his troops were also extremely gentle. As soon as they entered the city, they helped the people clean the streets, dig wells, and cultivate the fields. In a short period of time, they also built Holy Lord Cathedral in various cities and streets, distributed food to the public for free every day, and spread the truth of the Holy Church.
In addition, the logistics soldiers of the Holy Lord Empire were all skilled in painting. After the Church was established, they used the various paints they brought to paint images of God on the city streets and outer walls, and distributed religious ornaments, so that the whole city was filled with the glory of God.
After the Church were built in major cities, the Holy Lord Cathedral distributed the land it had seized from the powerful and wealthy to the poor believers, giving them the right to cultivate and harvest it. They even promised that as long as their whole family were Church, they would only need to pay a small amount of tax each year to have the right to use the land forever.
As the saying goes, "A single egg can ignite a flame of faith." When had serfs, who had endured years of oppression, ever seen such good treatment?
Within just two months, the land acquired by the Holy Lord Empire had been completely submitted to God. Every day, countless believers gathered at the church entrance to pray and repent, bathing in God's holy light and praying that this blissful life could last even longer.
For these poor people, the idea of becoming Vampire and gaining immortality was too far-fetched. After all, they were already considered lowly people, and it was lucky enough that they weren't treated as food by Vampire. What kind of Vampire would turn them, who were useless, had no status, and no wealth, into Vampire? So, the life they had after the Holy Lord Church was the best life they could ever live!
Driven by tangible benefits, the spread of the Holy Lord Church has never been so smooth. Countless poor people have become believers in the Church, and their faith in the Church is even more steadfast than that of the missionaries trained by the Church over the years!
Many people even offered to send their unwanted sons to join the Church, hoping that the Papal State' army could resist Kate's royal family's rebellion and allow their happy lives to continue.
Such methods are unprecedented in history!
His Majesty Adam's reputation reversed overnight. Although he was still called a "tyrant" or "tyrant" within the Papal State and in other countries, in Kate, a city occupied by the Church, he was now revered as the "representative of the Holy Lord" and the "servant of all the servants of God."
As for the Vampire in the cities occupied by the Church? Under the countless icons of God, they could only become rats in the sewers, either fleeing or being burned and evaporated.
His Majesty Adam's sudden attack and his unprecedented methods stirred up a storm in the Southern Continent.
Emperor Yalian III of the Boya Empire was awakened from his dream in the middle of the night and, almost without stopping day and night, issued eighteen edicts requesting His Majesty Norton, Lord of the Blood Court, to come to the Boya Empire for a meeting to discuss the alliance between the two countries.
The Emperor of the Duchy of Kate was furious and rebuked the royal family members. He packed up his property overnight and traveled north to seek refuge in the Boya Empire.
The various principalities, large and small, were terrified. Some immediately increased their manpower to guard against an attack from the Papal State and prepare for war, while others sent alliance requests to the Boya Empire overnight, hoping to reunite and resist the Church's overwhelming force.
However, no matter how terrified or nervous the royal families of their respective countries were, none of them were as nervous and fearful as His Blood Clan Progenitor Norton was now witnessing the Papal State' fighting style.
Because this playing style is somewhat familiar...
"Bang!"
His Majesty Norton downed the glass filled with crimson blood, then smashed it violently on the ground with a gloomy expression.
Despite not wasting a single drop of blood, His Majesty Norton's face remained terribly pale. Two flakes of skin even fell from his robes with each movement, landing on the trailing edge of his crimson royal robes.
A cold wind blew, causing Norton's scarlet robes to flutter. His pale, cold, and terrifying face, coupled with the scarlet crown on his head, certainly lived up to the imposing reputation of the Blood Clan Progenitor.
With His Majesty Norton's fury, a Pressure Pressure swept over, though Norton was only slightly leaked due to his agitated state of mind. In an instant, it still forced all the Vampire in the royal city to their knees. Abraham and Elizabeth, who were standing in front of Norton, trembled with fear, struggling with all their might to keep from falling.
This is because Norton's anger was not directed at them.
Abraham and Elizabeth stared in horror at Norton's furious face and his increasingly hunched and grotesque body, feeling as if they might perish at any moment at the hands of this progenitor who had lost his humanity.
"Hmph! The Papal State are arrogant and conceited, constantly imposing exorbitant taxes and levies. Do they really think the world is still the same as it was a hundred years ago? That old Pope Adam is nearing the end of his life, and instead of enjoying his last moments, he insists on starting a war. He's utterly incompetent and courting death!"
His Majesty Norton roared in fury, his festering face filled with suppressed rage and murderous intent, making Abraham and Elizabeth dare not meet his gaze.
After he finished speaking, his tall, strangely slender body strode around, facing the outside of the tower. His movements were as majestic as a true emperor, exuding an aura of supreme authority.
However, as he turned his head, out of Abraham and Elizabeth's sight, his pale, festering, hideous face was almost completely contorted, his expression one of utter agony.
"Are you kidding me!"
Is this the kind of fighting style you, Pope, should play?
Shouldn't you, Adam, resort to massacring cities at will to reduce the population and thus decrease the birth of Vampire? Such a tactic is inconsistent with your past reputation as Pope!
If it were a matter of slaughtering Vampire at every turn, using violent and bloody methods to exterminate them, and conquering his Blood Court Empire with overwhelming force, then Norton wouldn't be so panicked. After all, his Blood Court is now truly not afraid of violent means. The number of human knights and Blood Clan knights is already quite large, and there are hundreds of thousands of Vampire that he can command at will. As long as he wipes out the Holy Judgment Order of the Papal State, then there will be nothing in the entire world that Norton will fear.
However, the Pope's actions have not only completely cut off the possibility of Vampire hiding and developing in the city, but have also won the hearts of the people, making them stronger with each battle.
No one in this world understands the terror of the Pope's tactics as well as Norton does. So they are only worried about the Pope launching another attack. Only Norton is worried that once the Pope gains momentum and the snowball gets bigger and bigger, then probably no one in the Southern Continent will be able to do anything to him!
The best course of action now is to nip the Pope in the bud while he is still gaining power!
Norton's distorted face, which had been turned away from Abraham and Elizabeth, finally returned to normal. He still had his back to the two ghosts, and his hunched body, adorned with a blood-stained crown, gazed at the vast landscape of Blood Court, seemingly radiating boundless ambition.
"Hmph, since Adam is foolish and wicked and has started another war, then my Blood Court will naturally accompany him to the end and drown him completely in that filthy Church."
Upon my command, immediately proceed to the capital of the Boya Empire. I must immediately meet with the Emperor of the Boya Empire to form a powerful alliance and crush the Holy See!
It's time for my Vampire clan to rise up!