Chapter 401 The Duke is Assassinated (Please subscribe!)

"It's Pitzman..."

"Your Majesty, we didn't find any trace of Pitzman in the palace. It seems that he... escaped..."

Marshal Teodoro's words were like a sudden bomb, exploding suddenly in Rez's ears.

The original confidence and assurance of victory disappeared without a trace in an instant.

"What did you say?!"

Rez felt his head was a little confused, so much so that he froze on the horse's back.

Marshal Teodoro made a bitter face and repeated, "Pitzman, he seems to have... escaped... We searched the entire Norman Palace and found no trace of him..."

"Find him! Even if I have to dig three feet into the ground, I will find him for me!!"

Rez said in a deep voice.

We have gone through so much trouble and suffered so much loss to finally break into the city. If we still let Pittsman escape... the consequences will be unimaginable!

After all, Pitzman has the blood of the Alexander family running through his body. If he wins over the nobles and establishes a new regime in other parts of the empire, the entire empire will be in turmoil!

This would only make Rez's army exhausted and the entire empire would have difficulty getting a chance to recuperate.

Teodoro naturally knew the consequences of Pittsman's escape. Seeing this, he looked serious and quickly replied:

"yes!"

…

After the war, the city of St. Lawrence was left with only broken walls and ruins.

The area around the Norman Palace was slightly better, but the civilian residential area located near the city wall was undoubtedly the most chaotic place in the entire city.

For the soldiers who had just experienced a life-and-death test, it was finally time to divide the spoils.

They began to wreak havoc in civilians' homes. Although they did not commit massacre, they broke into civilians' homes with impunity and stole all their belongings.

after all……

This is the reward given to them by Rez.

If there were no temptation of huge sums of money, who would risk their life for the nobles?

Although the soldiers under Rez's command had experienced countless wars, they were not as disciplined as the Idar people after all. In addition, Rez ordered a full-scale search for Pitzman, so... for two whole days, the civilians of St. Lawrence suffered.

You know, when defending the city, Pitzman sent countless young and strong civilians to the battlefield.

So at this moment, the victorious siege army naturally did not restrain themselves at all. There was already anger in their hearts. If any civilians dared to stop them, what would be waiting for them would only be sharp blades and butcher knives.

Two days.

Rez's troops will loot for two days. Only after tomorrow can the reconstruction of St. Lawrence begin, and the civilians living in this city will survive this disaster.

However……

In this vast city, not every corner is filled with looting and chaos.

The area around the Norman Palace, Alfaro Street lined with wizard towers, and Wilson Cathedral in the north of St. Lawrence may be the only areas in the entire city that maintain peace and stability.

The soldiers naturally did not dare to provoke those powerful wizards who could cast spells. As the only important stronghold of the Church of Light in the imperial capital of Saint Lawrence, Wilson Cathedral was naturally under the protection of the Crusaders and was safe.

The night is long and the moon is dim.

As night fell, the crescent moon hanging high in the sky cast a faint light in the night, and almost the entire outline of St. Lawrence City was shrouded in the dark night sky.

There are no bright lights here like the Principality of Idar. The few lights come from around the Norman Palace, the outer city walls, and the soldiers on duty patrolling the streets with torches held high.

In Wilson Cathedral in the north of St. Lawrence, Bishop Fleming held up a bright candlestick and pushed open the door of the underground dark room in the flickering candlelight.

"Your Majesty Pitzman..." he greeted softly.

This secret room is very large and spacious inside. It has a main hall for receiving guests, as well as a study, bedroom, dining room, and even a small room for servants.

Pitzman escaped from the palace with only a few people, only four or five loyal personal attendants, so he didn't feel crowded at all.

When Bishop Fleming pushed the door open, Pittsman was sitting in the spacious main hall in a daze.

If it were an ordinary day, he certainly wouldn't have the leisure to do so.

But... now that St. Lawrence had been conquered by Rez, and he had been brought to this dark room by Bishop Fleming with nothing to do, he had time to think carefully about everything he had experienced before, and had some rare leisure time.

Seeing Bishop Fleming pushing the door open, Pitzman couldn't help but frown slightly.

When Bishop Fleming took him to escape through the secret passage, Pitzman had no time to think about why there were secret passages connecting the church and the palace. He was only thinking about whether he could regain the throne with the support of the Crusaders.

But when he finally arrived at the dark room in the basement of Wilson Cathedral, he had time to sort out everything that had happened before.

And when I thought about it, my mind was naturally filled with doubts.

The Church of Light has never interfered in secular affairs, and has been indifferent to events such as the succession of the throne.

after all……

The Norman royal family and the Church of Light, one is theocracy and the other is monarchy, it can be said that they have nothing to do with each other.

But now, not only had Pitzman heard rumors about the connection between the church and the Odin Empire a few days ago, but Bishop Fleming of St. Lawrence Diocese had also directly welcomed him into the church.

All the nobles who had supported him in the past had defected, but the Church of Light, which had nothing to do with him before, took the initiative to stand up.

Although Pitzman is not very smart, he is at least not a fool.

so……

Anyway, he didn't believe what the church told him.

"Why did the Crusader outside the door stop me when I wanted to go out just now?!"

Pittsman said with some displeasure.

Although Bishop Fleming had always been respectful to him, to be honest, Pitsman could not see any respect for the Norman royal family from those Crusaders.

Hearing this, Bishop Fleming couldn't help but smile slightly and replied softly, "All of this is for the sake of your majesty's safety. Rez is a traitor who killed his king and his father. If he ignores the status of the Church of Light and sends troops into the church without authorization, how can he protect your majesty?"

"You said before that the Church of Light would help me regain the throne, right?"

"Of course. As long as Your Majesty can do as we say, I hope it will be easy for you to regain the throne." Bishop Fleming said confidently.

"According to...what you said?" Pitzman asked coldly.

Hearing this, Bishop Fleming nodded.

"We will arrange for you to sneak out of the city as a soldier of the Crusaders. After you leave the city, you will first go to the Holy City to meet His Holiness the Pope. At that time, His Holiness the Pope will naturally give you guidance."

"An audience?!"

Pitzman stood up suddenly, glaring at the bishop in front of him.

Pitzman knew very well what it meant for him, as a member of the royal family of the Norman Empire and the emperor of the Norman Empire, to "audience" with a so-called theocratic leader.

"Your Majesty, calm down. I just came here to inform you. I hope we can work closely together in the future."

Seeing Pitsman's glaring eyes, Bishop Fleming knew that there was no possibility of continuing the conversation, so he turned around and walked out of the dark room, leaving Pitsman and several servants in the dark room furious.

"Keep a good look at him. Don't let anything go wrong. Don't let the Pope's plan get in the way!"

After walking out of the door and giving orders to the Crusader soldiers on both sides, Bishop Fleming regained his smile and walked towards the stairs leading to the ground.

"clear."

…

Western Empire.

A group of noble carriages and horses with a large entourage had just crossed the Chishui River, which borders the Stuan Basin and the Carter Plateau, and were heading towards the nearby Carter Plateau on the muddy dirt road.

Looking around, it turned out that the total number of Lin Zongzong's entourage and attendants was about 100 to 200 people. If they were not a noble family, they would definitely not be able to support a convoy of this size.

Moreover, in addition to the large number of attendants, there were even fifty or sixty fully armed elite knights in front and behind the convoy.

The latest novel is published first on Liu9shuba!

Although the armor they wear is completely different from the standard armor of the imperial army, it is superior to the standard armor in terms of workmanship and defensive capabilities.

The knights leading the way in front of the caravan held colorful flags in their hands. The flags were painted with different patterns and emblems, and fluttered in the cold wind of early winter.

Among these many flags, the most eye-catching one is naturally the cheetah emblem of the Carter family.

That's right.

This is the convoy of Duke Carter and Fabien Asimov.

Just a few days ago, he had personally met with another great duke in the western part of the empire, Duke of Rune, Mankun Blood, in the Stuan Basin.

Although the road was a little bumpy, Duke Carter didn't feel it was uncomfortable.

You know, his car was built by the best craftsmen in the western part of the empire. Not only is it extremely luxurious, it is also inlaid with gems and plated with gold foil. Whether you look at it from a distance or up close, it gives people an aura that keeps strangers away.

In the luxurious carriage, Duke Carter frowned tightly, his heart filled with worries.

The western part of the empire did not suffer much from the struggle for the throne. Apart from the influx of refugees, the chaos of the war did not bring much impact and trauma to this land.

But……

Since a few months ago, the concentration of magic power in the western part of the empire has begun to decrease at a relatively slow rate.

In fact, at the beginning, Duke Carter did not pay too much attention to this phenomenon.

After all, the concentration of magic power in any place can never remain unchanged forever, and the flow of magic power in the air is also a normal phenomenon in the eyes of mages.

If a natural phenomenon such as a magic storm occurs somewhere, it will definitely affect the concentration of magic within a certain range.

But the problem is... this naturally occurring fluctuation always has a cycle, sometimes even as short as just half a day, and the originally reduced magic concentration will be increased again.

However, the decrease in magic concentration in the western part of the empire seemed to have no end, and the speed at which the magic concentration was decreasing was also accelerating.

What’s even worse is that Duke Carter originally thought that the decrease in magic concentration only occurred in his own territory.

But the envoy from Duke Rune of the St. Tuan Basin gave him a sudden shock! In just a few months, the concentration of magic power in the western part of the empire has dropped by a quarter!

And this...

This is definitely not a normal phenomenon!

If it were any other noble, they would just watch helplessly as the concentration of magic power decreased.

But,

This is the western part of the empire. The people most affected by the decrease in magic power concentration are undoubtedly Duke Carter and Duke Rune, the two largest noble families in the western part of the empire!

Behind each of them, there are dozens of mages serving them. Even the mages of the Ethan School, whose sphere of influence covers the entire western part of the empire, have more or less connections with these two nobles.

therefore,

Led by Duke Carter and Duke Rune,

All the nobles and wizards in the western part of the empire were mobilized, vowing to thoroughly investigate the hidden cause behind the decrease in magic power concentration.

And with their strong control over the western part of the empire, they actually found out something! For example... the church! According to the information collected by the two dukes, after countless comparisons, Bishop Olson of the Inquisition finally caught the attention of the nobles in the western part of the empire.

The magic power in the western part of the empire is slowly gathering towards the Cecil Mountains in the west of the empire at an extremely slow speed.

Bishop Olson, who was affiliated with the Inquisition of the Church of Light, led a team of Crusaders into the Cecil Mountains around the time when the concentration of magic power began to decrease!

More importantly...

Not only did these Crusader soldiers not wear the Crusader armor that they were so proud of, but they were all wearing rags and short clothes that looked like civilians! "What on earth is the church trying to do?!"

Sitting in the carriage, Duke Carter's thoughts were in a mess, and his head was in a mess.

Although Duke Rune had some resistance to the existence of the Church of Light in the western part of the empire, Duke Carter still had some expectations for the church in his heart.

perhaps……

Is this just a misunderstanding?

Moreover, during this interview, many of the opinions and ideas raised by Duke Rune made Duke Carter more or less hesitant.

Because among these proposals, in addition to recruiting refugees, there are also contents such as recruiting soldiers, training troops, building weapons, and building fortresses.

To the peace-loving Duke Carter, this is simply... hard to describe...

You know, the news of the capture of St. Lawrence had not yet reached the western part of the empire.

Therefore, in his opinion, Duke Rune's actions were most likely intended to break the neutral and restrained stance of the western nobles and participate in the fight for the throne.

But just as Duke Carter fell into deep thought, the carriage under him suddenly shook violently, and Duke Carter's forehead hit the carriage.

The pain in his forehead made Duke Carter quite unhappy. He could not help but roared: "Damn it! What are you doing?!"

only……

Before the servants outside the carriage could reply, the moment he finished speaking...

An extremely sharp crossbow arrow,

In a flash, it broke through the wooden board of the carriage, passed through the flying wood chips, and fiercely nailed into Duke Carter's chest.

Phew!

Duke Carter felt a tearing pain in his chest, and blood was flowing...

(End of this chapter)