Chapter 247: The Great Surprise of the Lords of Annihilation
Following the Proclamation, the commoners headed westward. They encountered no substantial resistance along the way, as if the Lord they believed in had cleared away all obstacles ahead of them, allowing them to move forward smoothly.
However, this region had long ago been swept clean by Viscount Youn. Later, merchants from York Territory had shattered the gentry nobles’ attempts to blockade their own domains with gold coins and goods.
Those lords and barons who had broken away found it extremely difficult to confer knighthood under the subtle interference of the senators of York Territory. This forced them to “voluntarily” invite the Honorary Knights Order to “protect” them, these gentry nobles.
They paid the Honorary Knights Order some compensation, and in turn, the knights protected them from being killed by certain “bandits” while maintaining open “trade routes,” ensuring that the gentry nobles could “freely” travel within their domains.
Because of this strange form of “freedom,” the gentry and nobles here seemed to stand on the same side, and yet on opposing sides as well.
According to tradition, every piece of land required a noble lord, and the gentry on those lands had to swear allegiance to that lord and pay taxes. If villages and gentry did not belong to any lord’s land, then nearby lords were obliged to include those villages and lands under their protection.
But after being swept by Viscount Youn, the surviving lords and barons had their territories scattered. Having escaped Youn’s control, they had no way to reclaim lands that matched their noble titles. By tradition, they were supposed to recruit troops, confer knights, and then visit the landless gentry and villages to negotiate.
Yet, since the Honorary Knights Order had been invited to protect them, any unprovoked attack on villages and gentry would be considered hostile by the knights.
After two years of development, the Honorary Knights Order, aside from Knight Bedi who had been transferred away, still had three regular knights stationed here, along with five irregular wild knights and more than twenty knight’s squires.
They had no foot soldiers, only fully armored elites with warhorses. This force alone was enough to terrify even a baron with a full complement of knights, let alone these weakened nobles.
Not to mention, in times of war, backed by York Territory, the Honorary Knights Order could rally more than three hundred elite foot soldiers in a single day.
And everyone knew the background of the Honorary Knights Order. Thus, when they patrolled around the nobles’ manors and fortresses like an escort, all the nobles shut their gates tightly, not even bothering with the villages and towns under their charge. They only hoped this so-called “Proclamation” would pass quickly.
One could say that although this “free” land lacked small churches, it was already more submissive to the Church or York Territory than Adrian Diocese, where small churches had already been established.
But this was also the consideration of the Church headquarters and the Senate. Compared to this land that could be suppressed by violence, it was better to take a gentler approach when dealing with Adrian Diocese, where the Dragon-Eagle Knights were based.
Of course, the main reason was that the Church of the Sanctuary trained priests too slowly. After all these years, there were only just over fifty priests registered, barely enough to fill York Diocese and Rod Diocese, with Adrian Diocese only just getting by.
Therefore, priests had to be placed in the most critical areas.
This left nobles puzzled. Since the Church clearly had a chance to tighten its control here, why had it not quickly deployed priests to secure its authority?
But after truly meeting even a single priest, they all understood—cultivating such lunatics in this state indeed took time and was no easy task.
Though they spoke as if they were devout believers, in their hearts they were likely saying that the entire Church of the Sanctuary was insane.
After crossing this fragmented and free region, they were about to enter Viscount Youn’s domain.
But there, the Viscount had already stationed troops after receiving word.
Five fully armored knights with their squires, over five hundred half-armored warriors, and one thousand auxiliaries armed only with wooden spears.
Even if the civilians from York Territory were well-fed and robust, they were still unarmored. Against such forces, being slaughtered was only a matter of time.
“So when the priests lead the civilians in the charge, you must ensure the sound of this horn reaches the ears of every single one of Viscount Youn’s soldiers.” Oscar instructed the three mages before him.
He had been brought out by Monk Agamemnon, who had specially applied for half a day of leave for him.
Agamemnon stood by Oscar’s side, his eyes glowing faint blue.
This was a spell cast by Oscar, allowing Agamemnon to see scenes several kilometers away—where priests were preaching to the civilians.
“Understood, understood. Though I truly did not expect the Church to seek our cooperation. Quite surprising.” A mage wrapped in a black robe reeking of strange odors looked Agamemnon up and down.
“I know this little priest. He’s currently one of the visible leaders of the Church. If we kill him, the Church’s development should slow down, right?” said another mage, whose body was completely naked, without any gender characteristics, resembling a manufactured doll. Only his head still looked human.
“Enough, Alva. The Church has eyes that see the future. They already knew what we would do, or else they wouldn’t have sought us out.” The last mage, who still resembled a normal human, spoke.
“Then the Church must also know that we already know they’ll eventually exterminate us wild mages, right?” Mage Alva tilted his head.
“Wild mages? Did some diviner coin that term for you?” Oscar asked with interest.
“No, no, no. That’s the name you people will give us in the future.” Alva looked at Oscar, sneering. “Just look at you. Do you even look like a mage?”
Oscar corrected him. “I am a scholar. I study magic only to better explore the past. Magic is merely a tool for me.”
“Of course it is. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have sought our help,” Alva replied.
“Enough nonsense. I’m preparing to head to the Altlinsmann Empire. They want me to create some Philosopher’s Stones, paying with three landed nobles of that territory. A very rare price. If not for the chance to meet members of your Church, I wouldn’t have stayed here.” The human-like mage sounded impatient.
Alva said to him, “What’s three nobles worth? Gerard has already sent invitations to all mages. He asked the Lord of Annihilation to open a small plane, where we can trade with creatures of the Plane of Annihilation. Don’t you want to capture a few Annihilation Fiends for research?”
The human-like mage scoffed. “Do I look like a fool? To capture fiends under the very eyes of the Lords of Annihilation is to treat them as idiots. If I truly wished to study fiends, wouldn’t it be easier to snatch a couple after the Lord of Dominion descends?”
Alva urged, “But there are other things in that plane besides fiends—materials from countless epochs ago. Who knows what ancient resources might be inside?”
The human-like mage narrowed his eyes. “Do you take me for a fool? The Plane of Annihilation was originally banished from the material realm. What treasures could it hold? Likely nothing but trash.”
Suddenly, his expression shifted. He glared at Alva. “You’ve struck a deal with the Lords of Annihilation, haven’t you? You want to lure me there and sell me off?”
Alva burst into wild laughter. “Ahahaha! You caught me.”
The human-like mage’s interest was piqued. “And what’s my price?”
“With your magical level, the Lords of Annihilation would give me half a god’s corpse,” Alva said mysteriously.
The mage’s eyes gleamed. “Good, good! After we’re done here, let’s go. But you must let me study the god’s corpse you trade me for.”
“No problem—if you survive, of course,” Alva answered bluntly.
“Fair enough,” the mage agreed.
After they struck their deal, Alva turned to the black-robed mage. “Valo, want me to sell you to the Lords[a] too? You’re not as good as Host, but you could still fetch something—maybe a bloodline crystal.”
Valo, the black-robed mage, replied, “No. I have other matters.”
“A pity. Well, if you’re ever interested in the things of Annihilation, come find me anytime,” Alva said.
Oscar, listening with keen interest, asked, “So what price would the Lords of Annihilation give for a mage of my level?”
Alva looked him up and down, clicking his tongue. “At your level? At most, a god’s finger.”
Oscar was taken aback. “A god’s finger for a mage of only the Awakening level? The Lords of Annihilation are truly generous.”
Alva grew curious. “Awakening level? That’s like your ranking system for warriors, isn’t it?”
Oscar nodded. “First Tier: ordinary human. Second Tier: apprentice. Third Tier: Awakening. Fourth Tier: Arcane. Fifth Tier: Engraved.”
“And the Sixth Tier?” Alva asked.
“That’s a Legendary Mage,” Oscar replied.
“And us three?”
“You’re all Arcane Tier One,” Oscar answered.
Alva shook his head. “Then your classification is flawed. The Lords value us differently.”
Oscar chuckled. “After all, this is only mortal wisdom. How could it compare to the judgment of the Lords?”
Alva studied Oscar carefully, then suddenly said, “But I agree with your assessment of me.”
His words puzzled Valo, Host, and Oscar alike.
Alva continued, “You devised a classification system for warriors, didn’t you? The Lords want to give you a great surprise.”
Oscar’s smile faded. “A great surprise?”
Alva nodded. “Yes, a great surprise. Do you recall the curse that once struck the Scholar’s Association? Those under your classifications, once the Lord of Dominion descends, will all be cursed according to your own system.
“Perhaps you’ll all be turned into ordinary humans. Perhaps your races will be altered. Or perhaps you’ll all be transformed into fiends.”
[a]Just noticed... Lords or Lord? Think there is only one