The Holy Church Begins with Bestowal of Blessings

Chapter 400 : Force Deterrence

Julian had courteously dispatched people for the reception.The Red Dragon Knight Order stopped directly in front of the Marquis Shalier’s entourage.

The neatly assembled knight order, clad in dark red armor, looked as though it had been soaked in blood.

The warhorses beneath them had patches of decayed skin, revealing dark red, tender scales underneath. Tiny black bone granules jutted out from their heads.

These transformations made the warhorses restless, but under the command of the knights riding them, they did not move recklessly. They only flared their nostrils and snorted, saliva dripping from their mouths as their crimson eyes gazed hungrily at the party ahead.

This overwhelming, barbaric aura caused Gregor’s eyes to light up. He urged his horse forward.

Knight Edwin and Knight Kelton quickly followed. As for the marquis and knights behind them, they struggled to calm their speckled deer mounts.

These sturdy and agile creatures bore a dark green color like leafy vines and were more suited to woodland terrain than warhorses. Thus, although the woodlands had warhorses, high-ranking individuals preferred riding these speckled deer.

At least the speckled deer hadn’t bolted. In the ranks behind, many were so frightened by the beastly pressure that they wet their pants, shifted sideways, and prepared to bolt back into the woods at the slightest disturbance.

In these past few days, they hadn’t just sat around.

Some had scouted the inner woodland, others had gone to gather information from Greenwood. As such, Gregor, who also shared in this intelligence, was no stranger to the Red Dragon Knight Order.

Indeed, he already knew that this very Red Dragon Knight Order had slain at least thirty thousand people in his territory without losing a single member, only ceasing the slaughter yesterday.

But Gregor didn’t care about those commoners. He looked at the knights with burning eyes.

In his view, even Richard’s Oath Knights couldn’t compare to the Red Dragon Knight Order.

He even felt a pang of regret. If only Richard had rebelled too—then his Oath Knights would have been crushed as well.

"Marquis Doyle," said the commander at the front of the Red Dragon Knight Order, holding the banner, bowing his head slightly.

His voice was hoarse.

Even his warhorse lowered its head with him.

Gregor’s gaze fell on the warhorse, his eyes full of desire. He asked, "Where did you capture your mounts?"

The Red Dragon Knight Order’s commander replied, "They are bred within the knight order."

Gregor asked, "Can they be sold?"

The commander responded, "They exist only within the knight order."

Gregor was visibly disappointed, but he didn’t dare force the issue.

After a few exchanges, he gauged the commander’s strength to be at Tier Five—not someone he could defeat.

He said, "The Marquis Shalier is my guest, and also Bishop Jeremiah’s guest."

The commander replied, "We are here to receive them—and also to ensure our guests do not stray into… unsuitable places."

This was Gregor’s territory, yet he had no idea which areas within it were considered "unsuitable."

But since the other party said so, then such places must exist.

So he said, "Then do host them well. I will return to Doyle City to check on the situation."

The Red Dragon Knight Order’s commander nodded. "Bishop Jeremiah is waiting for you at the great cathedral."

Gregor nodded and returned to Marquis Shalier’s party. After explaining that the Red Dragon Knight Order was there to receive them, and seeing the marquis’s grim expression, he pulled Camilla onto his horse and passed through the Red Dragon Knight Order, heading toward Doyle City.

As soon as he left, the one hundred knights of the Red Dragon Knight Order spread out and surrounded the nearly five thousand-strong entourage.

The commander rode up to Marquis Shalier, who looked displeased. Without a word, he turned his warhorse toward the speckled deer, as if ready to bite them, and led the way.

The accompanying vassal nobles looked furious, but fear was hidden within their eyes. They moved in closer, watching the marquis.

Marquis Shalier looked at them, then shook his head and followed behind the Red Dragon Knight Order’s commander.

Surrounded and compressed by the knight order, the group stumbled forward. Within this encirclement, they felt a faint sense of dread.

Suddenly, two arcs of light streaked across the daytime sky. A few speckled deer, perhaps sensing danger—or due to poor riding—shrieked hoarsely, threw off their riders, and bolted.

But they were quickly intercepted by the warhorses in that direction, which tore open the deers’ throats, ripped apart their chests, crushed bones, and devoured their hearts.

Few witnessed the bloody scene. Most were staring blankly at the two arcs of light clashing in the sky, exploding into searing brilliance, like a second sun—so beautiful, so radiant. They seemed to feel its impact and heat.

The nobles breathed heavily, exchanging glances, each seeing relief in the other’s eyes.

How could they not pay attention to Greenwood—especially after Gregor led the Doyle Knight Order to their gates and proposed peaceful trade?

Their territories had rat paths, which couldn’t reveal Greenwood’s current state but had previously provided useful information.

Combining that with new intelligence, they understood: Greenwood was now acting under the standards of a new empire, a new era. They were setting new rules.

And the so-called peace now existed only because the unified war had not yet ended.

Look at the Northern Regions—even under these circumstances, Greenwood had already taken control there.

Next in line was the Woodland.

They did not believe Greenwood would cross the Demis River to trouble the Altlinsmann Empire.

So, after Gregor repeatedly visited them with knights in tow, they chose to engage in friendly exchange.

And thus, they began to feel fear.

Just the idea of granting freedom to commoners was unacceptable to them.

If nothing in the territory belonged to the nobility, what meaning did nobility still hold?

But they were helpless. They could not unite all of Woodland to resist Greenwood.

Due to its geography, Woodland had seen few wars over the centuries, resulting in many nobles with thousand-year legacies.

As such, the royal succession of the Principality of Valorian had dragged on for nearly twenty years. The Grand Duke had changed hands seven times, and aside from the core lands, the surrounding nobles couldn’t be bothered to involve themselves.

Without a unifying Grand Duke, how could these independent nobles possibly join forces?

Greenwood had already claimed the Northern Regions—they couldn’t even ask the northern barbarians for aid.

As for seeking help from the Rainy Lands further west—they never even considered it.

That rain-soaked wasteland, where it rained over 300 days a year, had less than a hundred thousand residents. What army could they muster?

So when Gregor rode through the woodland as if it were his hunting grounds, they began to feel that perhaps these new rules weren’t so unacceptable.

At least they remained nobles, with lands and power.

Better that than being wiped out.

But they still hoped to negotiate some benefits with their current influence—like retaining their territories.

After all, if Greenwood invaded Woodland, they’d suffer heavy casualties in the complex terrain blessed by Mother Forest.

That thought vanished the night the Doyle Knight Order was wiped out.

It was as if they had suddenly grown wiser.

They realized that with the guild system now in place, Greenwood didn’t lack administrators—so these nobles were no longer necessary.

Especially since they had executed half of Greenwood’s nobles in Doyle City.

Even if they were only minor nobles, they were still nobles. This made Greenwood’s stance clear.

So when they gathered at Castle Shalier, saw that Gregor hadn’t been killed, and heard from Marquis Shalier that Camilla—future Marchioness of Doyle—had told him that Gregor had no intention to resist Greenwood and dared not even claim he welcomed them,

They chose to loudly praise the Lord’s Glory, to shout that they too sought the Lord’s Protection, that the Lord loved all, and that they too were His children.

They gathered all valuable goods from their lands and headed toward Greenwood.

They were simply too devout. They even wore silver crosses.

Certainly not out of fear of the arcs of light that could flatten a forest or wipe out most of their forces.

The Lord loves all. When everyone is a devout believer, how could there be violence?

Including Marquis Shalier, they all dismounted from their now-unsteady speckled deer, gripping their silver crosses.

They had resolved to cling to their silver crosses until negotiations were settled.

Otherwise, how would their Greenwood counterparts know they too were devout believers?

As for Mother Forest, they silently added—Mother Forest is also a child of the Lord.

While desperately inserting Mother Forest into the Scriptures Jeremiah once gave them—scripts they previously mocked—they suddenly heard crisp, rhythmic drumbeats.

Tap. Tap. Tap—

And with the drums came synchronized footsteps.

Their eyes drifted down from the dissipating second sun in the sky, toward the source of the sound.

They saw Julian, riding an ordinary warhorse with his personal guards. Flanking him, moving to the beat of the drums, were two military phalanxes.

Infantry more heavily armed than knights.

Their trembling hands stilled.

They gripped their crosses more firmly.

Knights were powerful, but rare.

In the forests, even knights couldn’t unleash their full might.

But infantry were different—mass-producible, capable of advancing step by step.

Forests might be complex—but they still grew on land.

Two hundred knights could dominate Woodland. But with five thousand elite infantry like these—Woodland could be fully digested.