It was said, "A dark and windy night is perfect for killing."
The night was not quite dark as a bright moon illuminated the night sky. It was dry and cold, but not at all windy.
Four carriages were quietly moving along the path from the imperial city to the empire's eastern region.
These carriages were made with excellent craftsmans.h.i.+p. Although the path was rugged, the moving carriages did not make any noise, which was rather creepy. The drivers of the carriages, too, were silent. The convoy was totally quiet except for the occasional sound of las.h.i.+ng whips.
Inside one of the carriages, an old man wearing a black robe was lost in thought. The black robe he was wearing was made from the most ordinary material. His gray hair was neatly combed, and he was in a somewhat subdued mood, but the expression on his face was as cold as a hard rock.
n.o.body would have thought that inside this convoy of carriages, which was not guarded by any warrior, were the seven highest-ranking elders of the church in the empire. The black-robed elder was no other than Pope Corsica VI, who was currently the supreme leader of the church in the empire, the most powerful man of the religion in the empire.
The doctrine of the church was issued one day ago. The rupture of the relations.h.i.+p between the Empire and the church had been brought to surface. But what caught Corsica VI by surprise was that the action of the emperor was way faster than he expected! In the southern province of the empire, armies were suddenly dispatched to officially take over Purple Leaf City led by General Camus, Regimental Commander of the Southern Army. Immediately, the 150-thousand-men southern army was divided into six troops and headed out to control the whole southern province. Their following move was to wipe off the religious inst.i.tutes and churches of the religion of G.o.d in each and every city!
General Camus was indeed a veteran of the imperial army. He was very experienced, and the combat power of the Southern Army was very strong. The Flaming Warriors scattered in the south were not his match at all. This sudden change caught Corsica VI by surprise, which caused them to hasten to bring forward their plan to evacuate the imperial city and flee to the eastern region of the empire within two days. As for the Pope's doctrine, it was hastily issued halfway on the road.
Corsica VI felt somewhat uneasy in his heart!
This Abbas VI, the Emperor, had surprised him. How could this guy use such ruthless measures? Have such a cunning mind? And so despicably conspiratorial?
The moment their convoy left the imperial city, they were attacked by the imperial guards. Luckily, this route had already been prearranged, and another troop of Flaming Warriors was deployed to mislead the enemies on another main road to draw away the pursuing cavalries. This ensured the safe evacuation of the supreme leaders of the religion of G.o.d.
Years ago, Abbas VI was just an incompetent emperor. It did not make any sense to the Pope on how he became such a sharp-witted opponent with sinister measures.
"Hmm, things might get better once we're in the eastern region," the Pope sighed. He drew a cross in front of his chest and muttered, "G.o.d bless our religion. May the supreme G.o.d bless his most loyal servants, and punish the heretics who defy the dignity of G.o.ds…"
Eastern region. There were three provinces in the eastern region with millions of inhabitants. There was a large number of believers who were loyal to the church among the civilians. Also, there were many local aristocrats who sympathized with the church, the loyal Flaming Warriors, and also great wealth. As long as they reached the eastern region, they could totally call upon a two hundred-thousand-men army to fight against the empire with the prestige of the church!
Although the Duke of the Tulip Family was very powerful, there were rumors saying that he was severely injured in the war against the Roland army, and had not recovered till now. This was a great situation! Without the Duke of the Tulip Family as the commander-in-chief of the imperial army, their combat power has already been reduced by half…Whereas we have the combination-magic, a gift from the almighty G.o.ds! As well as millions of devoted believers in the empire…
Pope Corsica VI comforted himself and tried hard to calm down his mind which was having a severe headache right now. He had been feeling too tired these few days.
He drew the curtain aside to let the moonlight sprinkle into the carriage. He felt that all the bones in his body were aching.
"Hmm, it seems like I've aged a lot…" Just as this thought came up in his mind, his gaze involuntarily fell on the three elders sitting beside him.
All the other three elders looked very tired, too. They were seizing the time to close their eyes and rest, but the frail looks on their aged faces could not be concealed.
Corsica VI suddenly had a doubt which somewhat frustrated him.
'Why? Why were my subordinates all old and weak? Why aren't there any warriors among the Flaming Warriors like those under the Duke of the Tulip Family who would risk their lives to fight for their revered leader? Why aren't there any powerful sorcerors among the elders like the saints in the temple of the Roland Continent in the north?'
It was like this in the church within the empire. Greedy fat bishops who were cunning and wasted their meager intelligence on how to embezzle more gold coins. Though the Flaming Warriors were loyal, and their personal practice was pious, their combat power had never reached the level of the Lightning G.o.d's Whip!
The Flaming Warriors in the Radiant Continent that was as powerful as the Roland Temple's Holy Knight Regiment centuries ago, was now no longer an invincible army which was fearsome to their enemies! As the years pa.s.sed, the spirit of the Flaming Warriors was lost completely in the centuries of peace.
This did not make sense at all…
Corsica VI shook his head and forced himself to stop thinking, but, one after another, questions kept popping up in his head.
The convoy gradually moved into a valley. Right after the valley was the River Kiva, a big river from the eastern region of the empire. After pa.s.sing through the river, they would then reach the territory of the eastern provinces.
The carriages entered the valley quietly. Only the creaking sound of wheels running over pebbles could be heard.
On the peak to the left, one fat and one skinny figure stood erect.
"Fatty, do you know why the church was defeated so quickly? Why is it that the seemingly enormous church was so defenseless against the blow from the empire? I think Corsica VI that old man will not be able to figure this out no matter how hard he tries."
Old Skeleton's smile was very sly. He wore a black robe, and his body seemed to have blended into the dark night.
"What is there to guess…" Fatty mumbled, "It must be due to the writer, that idiot, wanting to end this book and speed up the progress, so he wrote it like this…"
"Hehe…" the old skeleton chuckled before saying in a serious manner, "The reason why the seemingly enormous church was defeated so quickly was, all of this has already been destined two hundred years ago during the era of the Great Emperor Abbas!"
"Oh?"
Old Skeleton sighed, "I've studied several decrees preserved from the era of the Great Emperor Abbas. He was indeed the greatest emperor of the empire. Those decrees were all thought in depth and planned carefully! When the decrees were implemented two hundred years ago, the church was already destined to become an outwardly strong but inwardly weak empty sh.e.l.l! Great Emperor Abbas had already laid the foundation of royal power for his descendants!"
The old skeleton's gaze was locked on the convoy of carriages in the canyon beneath. He continued in a deep voice, "The first decree that the Great Emperor Abbas left behind was, following the announcement of this decree, the Flaming Warriors shall not be recruited in any of the empire's wars in the future! I've checked the history of the empire. During that time, the church in the empire owned 250 thousand Flaming Warriors! The Flaming Warriors back then was not lax, like now. They were elites who had lived through real battlefields! At that time, the empire's northwest was just stabilized, and the Roland kingdoms up north were eyeing the empire covetously, while the mountain people down south rebelled. This was a time when armies were in great need on the battlefield! But Great Emperor Abbas issued the decree which refused the deployment of the Flaming Warriors no matter how difficult the situation was for the empire, and how weak its military forces were. Such courage, such foresight, I still break out in cold sweat whenever I think about it!"
His voice was gradually filled with respect and reminisce, "You know very well that armies are always involved in any country's conflicts! The armies are the foundation, a guarantee of strength, the trump card in one's hands! But Great Emperor Abbas had already uprooted the church two hundred years ago! Think about it. There have been never-ending wars in the empire for over two centuries. During these two hundred years, the Roland kingdoms in the north had started three holy wars, there were also endless wars in the northwest and the rebellions in the mountainous regions of the south were frequent too. All these wars had maintained the vitality and combat power of the empire's own army! The Flaming Warriors? An army which had not been to war for two hundred years…Hehe, how much combat power do they still have?
"I don't deny the fact that two hundred years ago, the influence of the church was indeed great! After the series of battles by the empire to unite the Radiant Continent, not only the Lightning G.o.d's Whip had emerged, the Flaming Warriors of the church, too, were trained into elites by a.s.sisting in the battles. Otherwise, the ambitious Great Emperor Abbas would have already eradicated the church back then! But he was smart enough to not do that. Instead, he let the church bleed slowly by slicing them with a soft blade! On one hand, he lifted the church up high, and gave them numerous authority, including the authority to collect religious taxes, as well as a high status…On the other, he cut off the vitality of their army…Hehe, this was really clever! two hundred years of peace, two hundred years of comfortable life. This was sufficient to turn the then-ferocious lion into weak and feeble sheep! This was enough to wear down their sharp claws!
"Once an army loses its vitality and does not partic.i.p.ate in battles, then it will rot very quickly and go downhill. Without war, outstanding generals will not emerge; without war, there will be no talents in the army! At the same time, two hundred years of peace was enough to cause the Flaming Warriors to lose the sense of urgency and vigilance which were required in an army! They are now merely an awkward squad a.s.sembled from the church's own warriors. Once they encounter a real war, they will not be able to cope at all! Even if they have unwavering faith and the courage to sacrifice themselves, these are still not enough! I've investigated in detail. Currently, there are almost no outstanding military leaders among the Flaming Warriors. They can't even complete the most basic combat system…Hehe…This is the reason why I dare to lay my hands on them!"
Fatty shook his head, "Cunning, too cunning…"
"This is just the tip of the iceberg…" the old skeleton sighed, his tone full of respect as he said, "The boldest move by Great Emperor Abbas was to solely grant the authority of religious tax collection to the church! What is tax collection? It's money! Lots and lots of money! Within the period of two hundred years, the continuous inflow of enormous amount of money was sufficient to corrupt the church! Presently, the church has become a machine specialized in acc.u.mulating wealth for the religion. Their ability to acc.u.mulate wealth is greater than their Flaming Warriors. Sliced slowly by these two soft blades, within two hundred years, the bloodletting of their courage was almost done…
"In comparison to the church, the empire was totally different. The wars in the northwest, south, and north had trained generations of armies in the empire. It had nurtured countless talents in the armies and maintained the vitality and combat power of the empire's armies over these two hundred years! Even during the most difficult times for the empire, the Flaming Warriors was not summoned to partic.i.p.ate in the wars. Of course, except for the war against the Roland kingdoms last year. That was the only time the Flaming Warriors partic.i.p.ated in a war throughout the two hundred years, but you've already seen the results. That lad Rody could so easily leave thirty thousand Flaming Warriors behind as cannon fodders. Thirty thousand Flaming Warriors, they can't be totally useless right? Their courage and faith must be unwavering, too, but in the end? When faced with the hastily a.s.sembled army of the Roland armies, they couldn't even hold Thunderous City for one day, and were completely annihilated! Doesn't that explain the problem? If it's our empire's own army, even if we did not employ the Lightning G.o.d's Whip but just any thirty thousand soldiers from the Northern Army, it would not be a problem at all to hold that place for three to five days even when faced with this large number of enemies. But thirty thousand Flaming Warriors lost Thunderous City in just one day! This shows how weak their combat power is! It was from then that I realized, the opportunity to eradicate the church has come!"
Fatty glanced at the old skeleton. He slowly unsheathed his sword and gave it a slight flick. The blade produced a clank.
"Old Skeleton, how long do you think we need to eradicate the church completely?"
Old Andy erected three fingers, "Three months. After three months, I can a.s.sure you that there will not be any more flags of the church in the territories of the Radiant Continent!"
He paused for a moment before continuing with a sneer, "Poor Corsica VI. He was indeed very smart and intelligent. He was also very powerful, but it's a pity he did not see through this truth. He is just a man bound by his petty cleverness. As a leader, he lacks great wisdom. Did he think that after fleeing to the eastern region of the empire, he could raise the flag of rebellion against the empire? Humph! Once the war starts, when confronted with death and spilling blood, how many of the so-called believers are willing to give up the lives of their loved ones and their properties to fight for an illusory religious faith? Humans are all very realistic and selfis.h.!.+ When their own interests are not involved, they may show some respect for religion, but once…hehe…once they have to cut their own flesh, offer their own blood, and give up their lives, most of the people will be unwilling to do so! As for the Flaming Warriors? Humph, as long as the Lightning G.o.d's Whip strikes, the two-hundred-thousand Flaming Warriors will be destroyed in one battle! So what if they have controlled the eastern province where the empire's military force is the weakest? These idiots have no idea at all that I've deliberately given up the eastern province to them!"
"Yes, just like killing the chickens. When there are so many chickens running around the yard, it will be too troublesome and exhausting for the chicken killer to scramble after them…It is better to herd the chickens to one place—into a cage. By doing so, it will be a lot easier to kill them!" An evil smile appeared on Fatty's face, too.
The old skeleton nodded, "That's right! Eastern region, this is my gift, the cage, for those chickens from the church! Once their scattered forces all converge in the eastern region, that will be the time we wipe them out once and for all!"
In the long and narrow valley beneath, the carriages convoy was almost near to the end. They will exit this valley into an open field another one hundred meters ahead! After that, moving forward another fifty miles, they would then reach the great river…
Corsica VI gazed into the distant horizon. The long night was going to be over soon.
Just as he was about to start thanking G.o.d's blessing, a howl of laughter came from the front at the exit of the canyon!
"Hahahahahaha…" The rough, coa.r.s.e voice sounded somewhat strange, and a huge, large figure suddenly jumped out!
This figure was almost two meters high! The fleshy body was squeezed into the largest sized armor of the imperial guards, and a huge warrior sword of the finest quality in the empire was held in the figure's hand. Moonlight shone on the person's face. Such a st.u.r.dy person turned out to be a woman!
Ruolan squinted her eyes. She raised her feet and kicked at a heavy stone, causing it to fly off and hit one of the horses hard. The horse pulling the front-most carriage neighed in pain and immediately fell. The driver, too, cried out in alarm and almost fell off the carriage.
The convoy immediately halted. Several drivers jumped down from the carriages simultaneously. There was a murderous look mixed with nervousness on their faces. They ripped off the robes covering their body to reveal the suits of armor of the church's Flaming Warriors hidden beneath. Pulling out their swords under the seats, they closed in on Ruolan.
Ruolan shook her head as she looked disdainfully at the four warriors dressed like drivers. She said coldly, "You guys from the church, unfortunately, your end has come! Please ask your Pope to come down from the carriage. I will send him to heaven to meet your G.o.ds right now!"
Having said that, the sword in her hand suddenly moved!
A large light-blade emerged and shrouded the four drivers!
Boom! The rocks on the ground flew haphazardly, and the four drivers were thrown out horizontally. They rolled away for several meters before they managed to get up on their feet. Blood was trickling from each of their mouths. The suits of armor on their body were badly damaged, and the swords in their hands buzzed and trembled vigorously.
"Humph! So this is the strength of the Senior Warriors of your Flaming Warriors? You are way weaker than the Holy Knights Regiment!" Ruolan smiled hideously and strode forward…
