Chapter 1008 - 557: Conflict Brewing, Archbishop Byron

But Guse Pandragon was very unfortunate; his baptism back then ended in failure.

Now he is already 117 years old, having entered a stage of severe senescence.

This became the fuse that ignited royal discord.

Excluding those illegitimate children among the common folk, King Guse has five direct offspring within the royal family.

The eldest, the second, and the fourth are princes.

The third and the fifth are princesses.

Among them, the one most doted on by the old King Guse is the youngest, the little Princess Jenny Pandragon!

Princess Jenny was clever from childhood, and under the guidance of the lady‑in‑waiting learned quite decent sewing skills.

Only, by royal custom, a princess cannot inherit the throne.

There has never been a precedent for this in the history of the Avalon Royal Family.

The human kingdoms of this world still uphold the system of primogeniture.

The one with the best hope of inheriting the throne is the Eldest Prince.

Yet previously the old King Guse had expressed his intention to groom Princess Jenny.

This made the other princes deeply anxious.

And aside from the Eldest Prince, the second and the fourth are hardly easy to deal with.

They each began developing their own power bases within the kingdom, courting noble factions from every region.

The princes and nobles in this world have long since become like foot wrappings—foul and interminable.

This conveniently provided the soil for the princes to toy with bloodlines and schemes of power.

Each of them has taken root in different areas within the borders of Avalon Kingdom.

Even the Third Princess is no exception.

She controls Avalon Kingdom’s eastern Hague Giant City, Elara Port, Vortex Bay, the Kekalima Islands and other key ports and cities along the Eastern Coast.

In contrast, the Fifth Princess Jenny Pandragon, whom the old king loves most deeply, actually vanished without a trace some time ago!

For this, Guse Pandragon even issued a kingdom‑wide Wanted Order.

Anyone who can find Princess Jenny and escort her back to the Main Imperial City will acquire the noble title of Hereditary Count and a Giant City Level fief, as well as a huge sum of five million Dinar and one battalion of Avalon Elite Warriors.

According to rumors on the streets, the Fifth Princess’s disappearance is tied to the other princes.

The old King Guse also carried out a rigorous investigation of several princes.

Unfortunately, there is no direct evidence.

Both the palm and the back of the hand are flesh; faced with his children’s overt battles and covert feuds, Guse can only sigh.

He truly has grown old, and Avalon Kingdom cannot remain without an heir.

So he can only tacitly accept his children’s struggle.

The Calamity Raven Church had previously established contact with the Second Prince, Carter Pandragon.

In exchange for their support of him, they sought the right to preach within the territories under the Second Prince’s control.

Unfortunately that fellow suddenly went back on his word afterwards.

Thus, in retaliation, the Calamity Raven Church dispatched the Apostle Corps to launch a surprise attack on Odu Village near the Burial Ground.

On the one hand, it was to excavate Bananazar’s wandering soul for a Sacrificial Summoning of the Raven Spirit.

On the other hand, it was also meant as a slap in the face to the Second Prince.

After all, Marquis Henry Lancaster of Lentax Giant City has already joined the Second Prince’s camp.

None of the princes, nor even the Third Princess, are any good.

Only that Fifth Princess, who vanished under mysterious circumstances, has not taken part.

Under such circumstances, Avalon Kingdom may well be on the verge of descending into full‑scale chaos.

In as little as three years, or as many as five, the old King Guse will be at his end.

The Nobles great and small who hold sway over the various Giant Cities and Bang City within the kingdom must also choose their sides in advance.

This is why the Calamity Raven Church has chosen this critical juncture to slip in while the door is ajar.

As for news from other kingdoms, the Calamity Raven Church does not know much.

But regarding Avalon, Nord, and Vigia, the Church has its own special intelligence networks.

This includes some of the Black Street rats within the major Giant Cities, a portion of whom also serve the Church.

Rats are the sort that will call anyone with milk "mother."

As long as you pay Money, they’ll say anything.

Aside from Avalon Kingdom.

Things are not peaceful in the Nord Kingdom to the north either.

That Queen Sandina is no saint; after serving King Ragnar for many years, with the Trevassin super‑clan behind her, she has been secretly building up her own forces, even manipulating princes, and some kind of plot seems to be brewing.

As for the Vigia Kingdom further north, the situation is also complicated.

Minister of Finance Finn List and the Liszt Clan appear to be extremely intent on the Development of lands north of the Desperate Great Wall; they are the wealthiest clan in Vigia Kingdom.

They have effectively monopolized half of the Traveling Merchant organizations in the Northern Territory, and command tremendous power under their banner.

Even the royal house must fear them three parts.

Recently, Finn List and King Yarogluke of Vigia Kingdom have had some disputes.

Because of this, he has already left the Royal Capital and returned to his clan’s sphere of influence in the northern part of the kingdom.

According to reports from the Fanatic in charge of intelligence for the Church, these past few days, large quantities of supplies have been flowing toward Eternal Winter Giant City, Frost Snow Giant City, and Cold Forest Giant City in Vigia.

In short, none of these kingdoms are exactly tranquil within.

It feels as if dark currents are beginning to surge.

As for the Swadia Kingdom, Kujite Empire, Rodok Kingdom, and Sarand Sultanate.

Because of geographical separation, the Calamity Raven Church does not understand the situation in these realms very well.

Across the vast Continent, their reach has yet to extend that far.

As to why the Calamity Raven Church pays attention to the affairs of the Human Kingdoms, the reason is actually quite simple.

Because the most important duty of any Church is to spread faith and acquire believers.

Only the major Human Kingdoms possess the largest Population.

It is just that Divine Authority and royal authority are incompatible, so the various kingdoms basically adopt a rejectionist attitude toward the Church.