PS: When you see this update, I'll be undergoing a root canal surgery in the hospital due to acute pulpitis. Sob, sob, sob, it's too painful. At night, it hurts so much that I'm rolling around in bed and can't fall asleep.
When Alfred Frey's army arrived in Brunswick, it was already a little late.
More than 20,000 Church troops were gathered in the capital. Many of them were religious troops, provincial troops, and private troops sponsored by the Kurfürst. For example, Lady Emmanuel from the south had generously allocated 20 Great Swordsmen from her Blackstone Guards to participate in this holy war.
As a rising star of the Church, Alfred Frey was not close to the capital of the Empire, so it was understandable that he was late. Moreover, Alfred Frey was a childhood playmate and best friend of the Knight King Laing (of course, there were rumors that they were close brothers). Everyone in the Church showed him respect, or at least did not mock him.
However, Alfred Frey's expression was not very good. He forced a smile in the face of everyone's greetings and questions. Everyone was guessing whether the Patriarch had offended the Knight King and the Lake Goddess and forced them to go to war.
"Patriarch Alfred Frey of the Western Brittany Diocese, long time no see." One of the two Grand Chanters of Brunswick, Emperor Karl-franz's religious advisor and representative of theocracy, Esme III took the initiative to greet Alfred Frey. He seemed very enthusiastic. "Like the others, I'll call you Alfred. Welcome back to Brunswick, the city that belonged to Emperor Charlemagne. We're about to face a new challenge."
Alfred Frey was not surprised. Many sources said that Esme III was no longer satisfied with being a Grand Chanter and wanted to become an Archbishop. Therefore, he was trying his best to rope in potential allies in the Church.
"Greetings, Lord Esme the Third. The God of Justice blesses us, and blesses everyone." The Patriarch maintained basic courtesy towards Esme, but he did not appear to be close to her.
Normally speaking, the status of a Grand Chanter was much higher than that of a regional Patriarch. Under Archbishop Vicmar, the Church of Justice's two thousand years of development could only be described as complicated and bloated.
In addition to these levels, the Church also had as many as nine Sacred Ministries that dealt with internal affairs: the Ministry of Faith, the Ministry of the Eastern Church, the Ministry of Rites and Sacraments, the Ministry of Canonization, the Ministry of Bishops, the Ministry of Evangelization, the Ministry of Clergy, and the Ministry of Education.
There were also three legal institutions, namely the Inquisition, the Court of Indulgence, and the Court of Inquisition. There were also eleven Religious Committees and six Administrative Offices. Apart from these, there were also three Secretaries that were responsible for assisting the Grand Chanter in his work.
The difference between Alfred Frey's position and Archbishops was that the former was in charge of military affairs, while the latter was only in charge of church affairs and did not have military power.
Seeing that Alfred Frey did not respond to his goodwill, the Grand Chanter cursed inwardly that the Nord country bumpkin was short-sighted. However, Alfred's background was too strong for the Grand Chanter to do anything about, so he could only turn around and leave.
After reporting his arrival, Alfred Frey was able to meet Archbishop Vicmar as he wished. The Grand Chanter was sitting behind a simple and somewhat rotten oak table in the Church of Justice.
"You're late." Vicmar immediately criticized Alfred Frey for being a little late, but from the tone of the Grand Chanter, Alfred could tell that he was not angry. The Bishop of Western Brittany respectfully stopped and bowed twenty steps away from Vicmar, but the Grand Chanter gestured for him to come closer. Vicmar's aura was as aggressive as the emerald griffin on his chest and the golden sun circle behind his head. "Look at you. You must be in some kind of trouble, aren't you? My Bishop, can't you give me some peace of mind? Haven't you learned to be mature and steady in the past few years? "
"That was many years ago, Grand Chanter. Now that I have a wife and a child, I'm here to answer your call for the glory and will of my Lord." Alfred Frey endured Vicmar's cold gaze. Perhaps to mortals, the Grand Chanter's gaze was cold and judgmental, but Alfred Frey had spent a lot of time with Laing, and occasionally with Morgiana and the Lake Fairy. He was used to it. "But I met with an accident on my way here. Can you give me a few minutes?"
"My time is very precious, my Bishop." Vicmar's face was filled with anger. He reached out and grabbed a large number of scrolls on the table. "Very … precious!"
Alfred Frey remained silent. The Bishop carefully observed Vicmar's expression. He realized that the Grand Chanter did not seem to be angry, so he remained silent and waited for the Grand Chanter to reprimand him.
"So … say it. It better be something valuable. Otherwise, get out of here!"
Alfred Frey told Vicmar about Walter. He left out some details and emphasized the strength of the little blacksmith from the Smirk Village, as well as the birthmark of the twin-tailed comet on his chest.
"What?! The twin-tailed comet?! " Vicmar stood up. The Archbishop's face was filled with extreme shock. He immediately stood up and paced back and forth in the Sacred Bone Hall. "Impossible, impossible! If there really was a Chosen One or a True God, how could there not be an oracle? Are you sure you didn't see wrongly? Or have you been in a foreign country for too long, causing you to believe in the nonsense of the Gods in the foreign lake?! "
"If there were no miracles or the reincarnation of a True God, an ordinary human could not have the strength of a saint at the age of seventeen or eighteen!" Alfred Frey quickly stood up and said to the Grand Chanter, "Your Holiness, it's the twin-tailed comet. The pair of hammers in his hands are as nimble as a pair of daggers. Every movement of his is accompanied by golden flames. Those flames have two long trails. You must know what that is. We all remember the ancient prophecies. When Charlemagne left the Empire for the other side of the Roof of the World, when the Savior took off his crown and announced his abdication after fifty years, there was an oracle … "
"When the Empire is in danger, they will turn into a twin-tailed comet and descend upon the mortal world again!" Vicmar interrupted. "But do you know what it means if Walter is really the reincarnation of Charlemagne? It means that as the founder of the two Empires, Walter is born with the right to claim the throne! This will cause Franz's twenty years of hard work to go to waste. The political situation of the Empire will fall into turmoil. The Empire, which is already unstable and showing signs of centralization, will quickly split into two halves! Franz's enemies, especially the big merchants, nobles, opposers, and zealots, would quickly gather around Vaughn. A civil war would be inevitable! The wind of magic is very unstable now. Another civil war? Charlemagne will not forgive all of this! "
"I know what will happen," Alfred said in a low voice. Alfreid said in a low voice, "I've already told Wo Teng to keep a low profile. Naughty Smile Village will have a very powerful champion warrior, but not a one-man war god."
"You blocked the news?" Vicmar turned his head abruptly.
"Walter voluntarily blocked the news." Alfred Frey was puzzled. "This is what he said. He said it was not the right time."
"This, this doesn't seem like the level of a blacksmith's son." The grand priest's expression became more and more unpleasant.
The Empire was undoubtedly the most advanced in the old world when it came to the promotion and education of the commoners. Even Laing's reforms could not catch up in a short period of time. Especially in the civilized south of the Empire, it was not particularly difficult for the peasants to get a basic education. They could send their children to study in the town or send them to the church to learn basic knowledge. Of course, they could also send their children to join the army. If they made contributions and were promoted to a junior officer, they would also have the opportunity to receive an education.
Craftsmen were indispensable among the commoners. For example, the son of a blacksmith like Walter, it was easy for them to receive an education. Some of the children of excellent blacksmiths could even directly become squires of knights.
Even so, the grand priest deeply understood that there was no reason for Walter to have such a political brain and wisdom.
Could he really be the reincarnation of Charlemagne?
But … if he really was the reincarnation, why were there no signs or oracles?
"Don't let outsiders know about this." After thinking for a while, the grand priest's expression became very serious. "Apart from you, who else knows about the twin-tailed comet birthmark on his chest?"
"Everyone in the village, the few nearby villages, and many others who went there because of the fame."
"… Very good." The High Priest's words were confusing. "If it is necessary."
… I'm the one who needs to be cut off …
Of course, the large-scale military operation of the Church of Justice in the Empire could not be hidden from Laing. However, Laing did not have any reason to interfere or participate in the operation without an invitation or permission. There was nothing he could do about it other than to continue to give orders to keep a close eye on the matter.
Of course, Laing did not stay idle. Not long after Al- Frey left, he personally brought Suria to Muxilon to inspect the industrial area.
After many years of hard work, Muxilon had become a semi-industrialized area with a relatively complete range of industries, especially in the city of Muxilon. Many factories were busy with production. In addition to the production of war machines, many civilian factories had also begun to produce daily necessities.
When Laing arrived, the chief political commissar of the First Guard Legion, Berliat, happened to be inspecting the factory with his little maid, Khorkina. After seeing Laing, Berliat was first surprised, then ecstatic.
One of the most important reasons why he came to inspect the factory all day was to let Laing see that he was working hard.
Happiness knocked on the door! Berliat quickly seized the opportunity to introduce the Muxilon military factory to Knight King.
However, Laing knew the military factory like the back of his hand, so Knight King just listened to Berliat with a smile. At the same time, he silently compared the situation that Berliat said with the real situation that he knew.
After Berliat finished his introduction, Laing did not comment. Instead, he said to Berliat, "I heard that there is a famous food street in the factory. Minister Berliat, can you take me there to have a look and have dinner?"
"Of course, Your Majesty." Berliat moved his eyes and bowed respectfully.
In the first half of Ugor's life, he had never met a king as unpredictable as Laing. It seemed that no matter how Berliat tried to please, flatter, and test him, Knight King's thoughts were hard to understand. On the one hand, he always let Berliat try, and on the other hand, he firmly controlled him with collars and chains.
The food street in the Muxilon factory was built under the leadership of Berliat. In essence, it was to standardize those taverns, roadside stalls, peddlers, and small shops that especially liked to open in front of the factory to earn money from the workers. Berliat provided a certain amount of financial subsidies for them, so that the workers could come to the food street after work and spend a few copper coins to drink a glass of beer and two side dishes to brag about before going home comfortably.
There was everything in the food street, including seafood barbecue, flour porridge, bread-and-bacon set meals, hamburgers, pizza, hot pot, fried food, desserts, and drinks. It was very comprehensive, and the prices were cheap and the quality was guaranteed. As the workers were not off work yet, the food street was a little quiet. Laing took Suria's little hand and ordered two cups of coconut juice. He smiled at his wife and said, "It's a pity that Morgiana didn't come."
"Morgiana doesn't like this kind of environment in the factory." Suria held a big coconut in her hand, and the female knight tasted it with Laing one by one with great interest. "Berliat, well done. How did you come up with this idea?"
"I think that the workers, especially the researchers, work very hard and should enjoy some benefits. Not only should they be full, but they should also eat well." Receiving Suria's approval, Berliat was ecstatic again. He directly knelt down on one knee and said seriously, "His Majesty said that we have to provide the workers with enthusiasm and happiness in many ways. On one hand, we have to establish an assessment and evaluation system. On the other hand, we have to provide appropriate benefits. We have to encourage competition, but we can't completely ignore it."
"Hahaha, you have a lot of ideas!" Laing smiled and nodded. "I really don't know how to evaluate you, Berliat. You're Ugor's horse archer, but compared to a soldier, you're more like a bureaucrat. I asked you to become a military civil officer, but you like to run to the factory all day long."
"I'm His Majesty's brick. I'll go wherever I'm needed!" Berliat was very flattering.
"Okay, get up." Laing held a box of fried chicken in his hand. The golden chicken was covered with salad sauce. Knight King gestured for Berliat to get up. "You've done a good job. I don't dare to let Talleyrand take charge of this kind of thing."
Berliat didn't dare to accept this sentence. If he accepted it, he would offend Talleyrand, who was very popular, but if he didn't accept it, he would offend Laing. Ugor's eyes flickered and he immediately changed the topic. "His Majesty suddenly appeared. Is there something important to deal with? Do you need me to arrange for the great engineers Sheogh and Dugan Ironman to come out? "
"Not for the time being." Laing shook his head. "I came to Muxilong this time to welcome a good brother. Since I've met you, then come with me to the dock to welcome him tonight!"
"Yes!" Berliat still had doubts in his heart, but he didn't dare to ask more.
"Don't be so nervous. Berliat, to you, he's an old acquaintance!" Suria saw Berliat's doubts. The Queen chuckled and said, "I promise you won't find him unfamiliar at all."
Not unfamiliar at all? Berliat's mind was in a mess.
However, in the evening, Knight King Laing personally led the Old Guard and many nobles of Muxilong, including Berliat's Ugor's army, to wait for a few rumbling dwarf warships at Muxilong's dock. Only then did Berliat realize that this distinguished guest was indeed not unfamiliar.
The cabin door was wide open, and the King of Eight Peaks Mountain, Belegar Ironhammer, with the Hammer of Angran hanging on his waist and the Shield of Resistance on his back, led a large group of Angran's sworn guards, and directly slid down the gangway happily. From afar, he stretched out his hands to the Knight King and his wife. "Oh! Brother Laing! Lady Suria, last time we parted, I hope you've been well since we last met. Hahahaha ~ I, Belegar Ironhammer, am back! "
"Welcome the real King of Eight Peaks Mountain, Belegar Ironhammer!" A grand welcoming ceremony was held at the dock.
After many years, Belegar, the King of Eight Peaks Mountain, officially launched a state visit to the Knight King's Kingdom that would last for several months!
And in Belegar's place, Laing heard a rather special news.
"What? The High Elves of Ossouin plan to launch a second round of peace talks with the Supreme King of Eternity? And they plan to send the next Queen of Eternity, Alisala, as a diplomatic envoy? "
"Queen of Eternity, Alisala, is willing to do that?"
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