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"Just say whatever you want to say, Your Highness Hattar." Marquis Mortan of the kingdom spoke first, looking at the second prince with a look full of pity.
Hattar didn't care. The great earl of the kingdom looked at everyone and slowly asked, "I want to ask you, does the kingdom now belong to the king and lords, or the bishops of the church?"
These slightly sharp words made everyone present pause for a moment, but Earl Bell on the side stood up and responded loudly.
"There's already been an argument for all this, hasn't there? Of course, the spirit and faith belong to God, and the secular and physical belong to the King!"
"Really, Earl Bell? But I heard that five years ago, you got the support of a certain bishop, which enabled you to kill your brother and take over your father's territory as the second son..." Hattar retorted with a sneer.
Bell's face changed suddenly. This secret was only known to his confidant and the bishop. It should have been foolproof, but now it was revealed directly. But before he could explain, Hattar turned to the other nobles present and spoke solemnly.
"Everyone, over the past hundred years, the power of the church has grown. Some bishops have even stopped abiding by their creeds and frequently interfered in secular affairs and the internal affairs of the kingdom. They even used the name of witch hunting to exclude dissidents and consolidate power... Compared to you and me, I'm afraid they are more like the real lords of the kingdom..."
Hattar's words directly hit the thing that the kingdom's nobles were most reluctant to mention!
The subjects of the kingdom were also believers in God, and the blind obedience brought about by their faith was far greater than the status of their lords. In addition, these priests possessed powerful divine arts, and any orders they issued would not be easily disobeyed even by nobles of status.
As for the saying that the spirit belongs to God and the flesh belongs to the King, it is nothing but a lie.
Although the priests are the most devout believers of the Moon Goddess and strictly abide by the church's creed, it does not mean that they are saints without any ambitions. The power in their hands being divided up is undoubtedly something that most of the kingdom's nobles cannot tolerate!
However, the church's hundreds of years of faith and baptism were obviously not in vain. Even though there were conflicts of interest, the church still had a lot of supporters. Before Bell could even speak, the Marquis of Mortan on the side spoke out angrily.
"That's enough, Your Highness Hattar. You are just exaggerating. The great Lord is the creator of all things. It was He who sprinkled the nectar on the barren land that allowed all living things to appear. No matter whether it is the nobles, the king or the church, they are just doing their respective duties and ruling this land on behalf of the Lord..."
These words immediately attracted many nobles to nod in agreement. The Bible of Creation mentioned that everyone's fate was written in the Book of Fate from birth. All hardships and pains were tests from the Lord, while joy and happiness were generous gifts from the Lord...
The fact that he could become a lord was not entirely due to the king's appointment, but was God's will!
It was because they were authorized by God that they had the ability to rule over the common people...
With Mortan leading the way, the church's followers no longer cared about the guards in the tower, and some even shouted enthusiastically, "The reason why the kingdom is so prosperous is that the great Lord has given the people faith, which has allowed them to find the meaning of life!"
The rest of the nobles either watched coldly or remained silent, while many looked towards Hattar, waiting for his response...
"Count Mortan, I never thought you would be like those brainless poor people and believe in that Bible full of loopholes." Hattar sneered. "The church was founded only 800 years ago. Could it be that the world had not been born before that?"
"Until a hundred years ago, the people of the kingdom still believed in the spirits of elements. This is not the territory of the church!"
The territory of Hadrata was conquered by the empire only a hundred years ago and was forced to become one of its vassal kingdoms. After that war, although the church burned a large number of folk books, a short period of a hundred years was not enough to erase all traces. For those aristocratic families with a long history, the belief in elemental spirits was not a secret.
Seeing that Hattar dared to defame the Bible so bluntly and even despise God, Mortan showed great fear on his face and kept scolding him. "Do you know what you are saying? This is blasphemy!"
Count Bell also questioned. "Are you planning to be hostile to the Church and the entire Sekas Empire, Your Highness Hattar?"
"Why not?" Hattar did not deny it, but nodded calmly.
The nobles present were in an uproar. Although many of them supported the second prince to ascend the throne, they only hoped that Hattar would continue to restrict the privileges of the church after ascending the throne. They did not expect that the other party would be so crazy and actually wanted to confront the empire and the entire church.
"Crazy, really crazy!" Marquis Mortan shouted in fear, and immediately decided to unite his allies to make King Bazel change his mind and remove Hattar from the position of crown prince. Otherwise, the other party would only lead the Kingdom of Hadratha into a dead end...
No one can resist the wrath of God!
Chapter 285: The survival of the kingdom depends on today!
Inside the tower, exclamations and voices of doubt rang out continuously. Hattar saw everyone's reactions. The reason why he summoned the nobles of the kingdom tonight was to find out who supported the Holy See, who were the spies sent by King Bazel to be by his side, and how many people truly supported him!
Devout church believers like Mortain and Bell were obviously the ones who had to be cleared out.
"What exactly do you want to do, Your Highness Hattar?" a noble of the kingdom shouted harshly.
"Of course, we must drive the church out of the entire kingdom and take back the rights we should have had a hundred years ago!" Hattar said in a decisive tone.
"Think about it, my friends. We will build a brand new kingdom. There will no longer be those high and mighty churches that dictate to us. We will not have to pretend to rely on praying to God to decide whether a war should continue. All affairs within the kingdom will be decided by you and me... No one can shake the authority of the lord anymore!"
Hattar said passionately that this was a great achievement that surpassed his father Bazel, and he would become the true king of this kingdom!
"This is impossible!" "Ridiculous, do you want to incur the wrath of God, Hattar?" "His Majesty Bazel will never agree to this!"
The nobles present objected fiercely. Although the new kingdom described by Hattar was very tempting, it meant fighting against the two behemoths, the Church and the Empire!
"Of course it's possible!" Hattar's voice sounded again, drowning out the noisy words on the field. "But we need some powerful allies!"
ally?
Bell and the others paused for a moment, and then they saw two figures, one old and one young, walking out from behind the curtain of the tower.
The leading man looked very young, about twenty years old, with a cold and shrewd look. The old man behind him was wearing a black robe, with white hair and beard. He was like an apprentice, always half a step behind and followed the other closely.
"Please allow me to introduce Master Anthony to you!"
Hattar turned to look at Anthony and introduced him, but when he saw Lin En, he paused and said hesitantly. "As for the other one, who is..."
"This is Lord Lin En from the Land of Wizards... and he's also my teacher!" Anthony took the initiative to take over the conversation and replied in a deep voice.
Anthony, who looked old, pointed at Lin En, who looked no older than his grandson, and called him "teacher", which was inexplicably funny.
However, the people present could not laugh, because it was not difficult to hear from Hattar's words that the two people in front of them were wizards!
"Wizard's Land?! The gathering place of those evil gods and devil followers? You must be crazy, Hattar, to cooperate with these evil demons..." A noble of the kingdom said in disbelief. "It seems that His Highness Harold was right. The riot of the miners is indeed related to you!"
"These are just necessary sacrifices for the reconstruction of the kingdom!" Hattar admitted frankly.
"Everyone should have heard it." Earl Bell immediately stood up and said loudly. "His Highness Hattar must have been corrupted by these two devil's followers, so he came up with such a stupid idea to fight against the great Lord!"
"The survival of the kingdom depends on today. We must unite and kill these two devil's followers, otherwise the whole kingdom will never have peace!"
Bell shouted excitedly. Although their weapons were confiscated and they were taken to this heavily guarded tower, it did not mean that they had no ability to resist. Hattar should never have gathered them together!
Every king and noble is a knight who is skilled in archery and horse riding and is capable of killing enemies in battle. Among them are many great nobles and bloodline knights who inherit excellent blood power. Even if they do not have suitable weapons, they are not easy to deal with!
In fact, the moment he entered the tower, Bell had already activated the holy relic of communication given to him by the Cardinal. If he could create some chaos before the church personnel attacked, he would become the greatest hero in suppressing the rebellion in the kingdom!
In a trance, Bell seemed to see the scene of himself being rewarded and named Duke of the kingdom, and his mood became more and more excited.
However, the situation was different from what he expected. No one stood up to support him. Bell soon understood why. He was terrified to find that his body suddenly lost control, as if an invisible hand had grabbed his neck fiercely...
Anthony's body moved without wind, and the huge magic power pressed on everyone's heart like a wave. The six-ring wizard was undoubtedly terrifying, and instantly suppressed everyone's consciousness of resistance.
At the same time, Lynn's voice rang out.
"You should all know my identity. I am here to help you completely break free from the exploitation and bondage of the Church."
"Of course, this is not forced. The Wizarding Land is different from the Church. We are a democratic parliamentary system, so each of you has the right to choose!" Lin En said with a smile.
Although the smile on Lin En's face was very kind, the nobles were not fools and did not dare to take it seriously. This choice... was probably the right to choose between life and death!
Lynn raised his hand and signaled Anthony to let these people go, allowing them to speak freely.
"Don't try to seduce us!" The Kingdom's Marquis Mortan was the first to stand up and shouted loudly. As the most loyal believer of the Lord, he would never surrender to the wizard!
However, not every noble was as decisive as Mortan, and more people hesitated.
At this moment, several servants ran in and shouted anxiously.
"Your Highness, the Cardinal has surrounded our residence with a large number of guards!"
Upon hearing that Anruk had come to kill them, some of the nobles who had been wavering immediately became resolute and were filled with joy.
Even Hattar felt a little uneasy. Although the appearance of the cardinal was part of their plan, Hattar was not completely sure and hurriedly looked at Anthony.
Anthony did not reply, but Lin En smiled and said, "In that case, let's go and take a look together!"
Lynn took the lead, but instead of leading everyone out of the tower, he took them to the top of the tower.
Below, the chaotic scene of the entire mansion soon caught everyone's eyes. Under the light of the torches, thousands of guards wearing refined armor used crossbows and long swords in their hands to beat the guards of the mansion back step by step. No matter who it was, it was obvious that the fall of the mansion was only a matter of time...
Chapter 287 Anthony: This must be the opening move of some legendary magic!
"It looks like Lord Anruk will soon lead his men to attack here. Your Highness Hattar, if you are willing to draw a clear line between yourself and those followers of the evil god now, you may still have a chance to survive!"
Seeing the guards in the mansion being quickly defeated, Marquis Mortan sneered and spoke, not afraid of the two powerful-looking wizards beside him.
The Bible records that those who fight against evil and die heroically will surely go to heaven!
Although the other nobles did not have the courage of Mortan, they were secretly glad that they did not hastily stand in line because of Anthony's terrifying power. Otherwise, when the cardinal came, they would inexplicably become the evil devil's lackeys.
Hattar was extremely anxious and looked at Anthony again and again. The other party asked him to bring all the nobles to the manor and bring Anluk over, but he had done all of that, but the great wizard still had no intention of taking action.
However, what surprised everyone present was that they were clearly standing on the tower, but no guards approached them, as if no one could see them.
They didn't know that the magic tower was cast with polarizing magic, and was located in the corner of the mansion. It was temporarily created by Anthony using magic, so it was not within the other party's search range.
Of course, this doesn't mean that staying here is completely safe.
This kind of large alchemical array is difficult for ordinary priests and bishops to detect, but if the cardinal approaches within a hundred meters, he will most likely discover clues.
Lin En had naturally considered this situation, so whether it was Cody's intelligence, the direction of Fula and others' escape, or the information they deliberately revealed, they would all guide the other party to the main house in the center of the mansion...
"Your projection skills are quite good!" Lynn stood on the top of the tower, using farsight magic to stare at the battle in front of the main house, and said with a smile.
For this "fishing" operation, he specially taught Anthony the projection technique so that he could use it to contain the cardinal and prevent him from being accidentally injured by his magic...
But I didn’t expect that Anthony not only learned quickly, but also used it well.
It seems that Anluk has not yet realized that the one fighting him is just an avatar...
"Although this magic that uses mirrors as a basis for casting spells is interesting, it is ultimately only a fourth-ring spell. If I still cannot master it after two whole days, I am not worthy of being your disciple..." Anthony stroked his white beard and spoke proudly.
In order to hide it from Anluik, he put most of his magic power into it, so even though they were very close, the other party could only feel a huge amount of magic power surging.
"The strength of this cardinal may be stronger than I expected. I am no match for him in a head-on battle. I'm afraid you will have to do it yourself this time." Anthony frowned slightly and said in a deep voice.
Thanks to the vast amount of knowledge he had acquired in the field of magic, he had successfully been promoted to a six-ring great wizard, standing on the same level as the other party.
But after all, he was promoted too shortly and failed to master enough six-ring spells. If a real fight broke out, he would probably be at a great disadvantage. After all, Anluk had already become a six-ring priest ten years ago and had extremely rich experience.
The cross-shaped holy emblem on the other party's chest made him feel a little palpitating...
But this is also a rare opportunity, maybe you can get a glimpse of the legendary power!
Thinking of this, Anthony looked at Lynn. The apprentices and wizards who had stayed in the mansion these days had been engraving thunder runes in every corner of the mansion according to Lynn's instructions.
He was very clear about the meaning of these runes. They were more like some kind of alchemical array that stored and converted lightning power. They did not have much killing power...
Anthony acted as if seeking advice and expressed all the doubts in his mind.
“Your guess is right. To be precise, the function of this alchemy formation is to form a weak electric field. Of course, it can also bind the power of lightning in this mansion…” Lin En explained.
"It's a very clever design!" Anthony nodded, and then spoke again. "But this alone shouldn't be enough to deal with the cardinal, right?"