Green Monster Epic

Chapter 770 King of the Lionheart

King Dazel of the Lionheart Kingdom was ambitious and talented. In his thirty-two years on the throne, he brought the overall strength of the Lionheart Kingdom to a new level. Seeing that it was only one step away from becoming an empire, the old king, who was already in his twilight years, was probably no longer able to see his dynasty take that step.

The former hero could now only lie on the soft bed like a walking corpse. Even raising his hand and speaking had become a luxury. Now, he could still breathe only because he was holding his breath in his heart, determined to personally see his eldest grandson ascend the throne before closing his eyes.

When the previous king passed away, the Lionheart Kingdom spent a full three years deciding on the new king. The main reason was that the Church of the Suffering was not satisfied with the successor chosen by the old king and did not want to crown the new king.

As a result, the kingdom was without a king on the throne for two and a half years. It was not until the kingdom's ruling power gradually began to waver and signs of chaos appeared in the hearts of the people that several dukes, earls, and important ministers of the kingdom finally compromised with the church, and then Dazel had the opportunity to take office.

The reason why the Church of the Suffering chose Dazel to succeed to the throne was simply that Dazel's mother devoutly believed in the God of Suffering and requested the Pope to baptize Dazel and send the most learned scholars of the church to teach Dazel.

For the same reason, the old king did not consider Dazel as a successor from the beginning, but chose his eldest brother as the new king.

However, what the Church of the Suffering did not expect was that Dazel, a talent who had received the elite education of the church, after finally ascending the throne under their operation, actually broke away from the control of the church and instead embarked on the path that the old king had expected his eldest son to take.

In these thirty-two years, Dazel went from enduring humiliation in the beginning to winning the support of several dukes and earls of the kingdom, as well as the commander of the army and the top group of kingdom powerhouses. Then, he began to consciously strengthen the power of the Church of War, expressing a friendly attitude towards the Church of War.

The Church of the Suffering has been dominant in the Lionheart Kingdom for so many years. Although there are also branch halls and cathedrals of other churches standing in the major cities of the kingdom, there is only one temple of the Church of the Suffering in the royal capital.

This situation finally changed ten years ago. Under the strong promotion of King Dazel, the magnificent statue of the God of War was officially erected in the west city of the royal capital, facing the statue of the God of Suffering in the east city from afar.

Similar scenes also occurred in other places. The nobles, who had been secretly enlightened by King Dazel, promoted the God of War in their own territories and helped the Church of War build churches and preach. In just ten years, the Church of War, which was originally weak in the Lionheart Kingdom, has developed greatly. Although the gap between it and the Church of the Suffering in the kingdom is still not small, it is at least enough to become an existence that can contend with the Church of the Suffering.

Of course, the contention mentioned here can only be achieved with the support of the Lionheart Kingdom's royal family and the powerful class. This delicate balance of power is deliberately created by King Dazel with his wise wisdom and means.

Because of the emergence of this balance, the conferment of titles to the kingdom's nobles in the past two years no longer needs to go through the Church of the Suffering, but can obtain orthodox status through the recognition of the Church of War. This time, the conferment and coronation of the new and old kings, also because of the existence of the Church of War, made it impossible for the senior leaders of the Church of the Suffering to insist on their supported successor to ascend the throne as in previous years.

However, even with the Church of War as an alternative, Fleming, the second prince favored by Dazel, has not been able to complete his ascension to the throne after more than two months. At the same time, in order to get through this long transition period, King Dazel, with his firm will, even brought in the kingdom's archmage and his colleagues to sew and transform his declining body, just to stay awake until Fleming's succession.

"... Your Majesty, the Church of the Suffering still insists on not crowning Prince Fleming. Should we simply invite the Church of War to preside over the coronation ceremony for His Highness?"

Sidney, the royal guard commander, who had just turned fifty, was in his prime. He was promoted by King Dazel and now, seeing the dying King on the bed, he could not help but feel a little sad. Therefore, he wanted to fulfill the wish that his loyal monarch insisted on as soon as possible, so that his soul could rest in peace.

However, the refusal of the Church of the Suffering made Sidney very annoyed and he could not help but loudly suggest to the old King Dazel, who was squinting his eyes and revealing turbid eyes.

"Sidney, do you want to make my Lionheart Kingdom a laughing stock? The highest authority of the Church of War in my Lionheart Kingdom is only an Eastern Bishop. Although his status and strength are not bad, he is still not qualified to crown our new king."

"My Lionheart Kingdom has been established for 13,100 years, but no king has ever been crowned by a Pope or Saintess of a church."

"Even if we want to change the crowning church, it must be the Pope of the Church of War who comes to crown him in person. Only then will it match the status of our Highness."

The kingdom's Prime Minister, Sunak, who was also the Grand Duke of the Purple Iris Kingdom, had a pipe in his mouth. He was teaching Sidney while puffing out smoke.

"Your Majesty, don't worry. Regarding this alternative plan, I personally went to the Temple of the Church of War late at night three days ago and visited their Bishop Glyndon, asking him to invite their Pope to come to the royal capital to attend the ceremony."

"By then, I'm afraid that His Holiness Zachariah will no longer be able to delay it; of course, even if His Holiness Zachariah still insists on unreasonable demands, then we can justifiably invite His Holiness Rhys to preside over the coronation ceremony."

"..."

Lying on the bed, Dazel saw the arrangements made by his old friend, and a trace of gratification flashed in his eyes. However, now that he could barely hold his breath, he was already struggling and fighting hard. Therefore, in order to save strength, he could only return a grateful look to his right-hand man.

The other ministers seemed to have known about this for a long time and did not show too many emotions. Only Sidney had been guarding Dazel recently, focusing more on the safety of His Majesty's life, but he knew less about these affairs. At this time, hearing what the Prime Minister said, his face suddenly lit up, and then he said with some embarrassment: "So you old guys have already discussed it, but you didn't tell me, right! !"

"Don't blame us for this. You have been guarding His Majesty and never left. We wanted you to attend the discussion meeting, but you wouldn't show up! !"

Sunak raised the corner of his mouth slightly, teasing Sidney, who was more than ten years younger than him, but whose combat power could beat him hundreds of times, pretending to be dissatisfied with the other party's lack of concern for things outside the window, but in fact, he was very grateful to him for guarding the king conscientiously.

"However, although Bishop Glyndon has agreed to do his best to persuade His Holiness Rhys to come to watch the ceremony, it is still unknown whether His Holiness Rhys will come."

"Even if he does come to attend the ceremony, the journey back and forth will take at least two more months! !"

"I'm just worried about whether your body can last until that moment, Your Majesty."

The moment he put away his smile, Sunak's face became more serious and unbearable, and his eyes dodged and dared not look directly at the King lying on the head of the bed.

When the other ministers and Sidney heard this, their faces were also filled with emotions. The old king used to be such a heroic figure, but now this immobile appearance was simply worse than death. Every day, he had to be infused with a large amount of magic power by the mages to maintain the functions of his transformed body.

However, for the old king, who had no affinity for magic, the magic power forcibly left in his body was like a poisonous snake full of thorns, flowing in his flesh and blood, and at every moment, there would be a heart-piercing pain lingering in his mind, comparable to a torture that would never see the end.

"No need... to worry... about me."

Hardly opening his chapped lips, King Dazel spat out word by word, and under his withered and dead expression, it was difficult to hide the pain, but deep in his turbid eyes, there was a firm determination.

The kingdom must never make concessions to the church on the matter of the successor again. The times have changed, and some things need to be changed. If the change cannot be made first on the heir to the throne, showing the determination of the royal family, then the reforms from the local government will inevitably not succeed in the future.

Although Dazel was sure that he would not be able to see that scene, he believed that with the two princes he had cultivated and the support of a virtuous minister like Sunak, the kingdom would inevitably usher in a successful change in the future, making the lives of the kingdom's subjects easier and giving the kingdom more composure and independence in front of the church.

"... There are still many things to prepare for the coronation ceremony. We will report to you if there is any situation."

"Don't worry, Prince Fleming has our assistance. During this period, presiding over the government is very much like your style back then. He is a good prince worthy of entrusting."

Just saying five words, Dazel's spirit was completely weakened. Seeing his painful appearance, Sunak really couldn't bear it, so he winked at the colleagues around him and then took his leave.

Before leaving, Sunak also pulled Sidney aside and carefully reminded him: "Your Majesty's safety depends on you. Before His Highness is crowned, you must not leave this room even if His Majesty takes his last breath."

"Don't worry, I know! !"

Sidney nodded solemnly. Although he didn't make any promises, his eyes had already said everything.

Just hang in there, just hope I don't get infected again. But obviously that's impossible, so I can only hope that I get it later.