The witch thought I am a Demon God
Chapter 1004 - 514: The Imperial Parliament and Approaching Universal Law_2

Chapter 1004: Chapter 514: The Imperial Parliament and Approaching Universal Law_2

Louis XI said, "If I can think of this, other nations will think of this too, and so will the powerful hidden in the forest."

"I want them to tire themselves out for our kingdom, then we’ll take the opportunity to capture Alsace and push into the Empire, seizing the sleeping chambers of the seven Electors and the Emperor."

The Archbishop hesitated, "Isn’t this too risky?"

At this moment, the Grand Chancellor suddenly expressed his stance. "Actually, I support His Majesty. Ordinary nations might indeed not be able to accomplish such a monumental task, but the Kingdom of Frank, united from top to bottom, everyone contributes to the Frankish nation, they will definitely understand His Majesty’s intentions."

The Archbishop said, "But... I always have doubts."

Louis XI opened the tent door, where his army was stationed on a plain, but the spread of the Black Death within the army was already very severe, even the Frankish Law seemed to have lost most of its effectiveness at this time, becoming purely a psychological comfort.

Inside the army, soldiers infected with the Black Death lay next to the tents, placing their legs on the muddy ground, allowing the sunlight to shine down on them in hopes of alleviating some of their pain.

The faces of these soldiers were filled with immense pain.

However, when they saw the Emperor, their expressions became spirited, they all rose from the ground, shouting towards Emperor Louis XI, "Long live Frank, long live the Emperor!"

Each soldier, upon seeing the Emperor, felt honored, even though they were in dire straits, but at that moment, they felt like they were part of the strongest nation in the world.

In Frank, the Emperor was no longer the protector of humanity but solely the protector of the Frankish nation.

Louis XI confidently waved to them, "My soldiers, now it’s time for you to make sacrifices for the Frankish nation. Are you willing?"

"Not for faith, but for me and our nation!"

Nearly all the soldiers nearby had a gleam in their eyes, without needing their reply, the Emperor, the Grand Chancellor, and the bishops knew that these people would give everything for the national community.

At that moment, the three rulers standing at the peak of the Frank Empire knew they could do whatever they wanted with this army.

In the resounding shouts of the army, Emperor Louis XI said, "See, Archbishop, this is the national bond that transcends faith."

"You two initially told me that you would assist me, inherit the wishes of my father, the Sun King, and create an unprecedented empire on the glorious land of Frank, and so you have painstakingly done all the way here. But now we have achieved it."

The Archbishop looked at the army and no longer felt inclined to advise Louis XI, "With so many fearless soldiers, we will be invincible in battle."

"However, if we take this army and attack our neighbor, the Duchy of Lower Burgundy, we might win the war in a very short time."

"Since the Emperor and the Pope are already preoccupied with the Black Death, it seems only natural for us to mobilize all the major forces within the country to invade the surrounding nations."

...

Five days later, on her way to the Imperial Parliament, Ivita received shocking news that astounded all the lords of the Imperial Parliament, as Frank had used seventy thousand troops to take down the Duchy of Lower Burgundy in less than five days, forcing most of the nobility there to surrender their weapons.

The two adult heirs of the Duchy of Lower Burgundy had both been cursed to death by the witches of the Kingdom of Frank, leaving only a 12-year-old boy who was being raised by the Pope to luckily survive, but his country had already been devoured by the Frankish Law, with the River Law being integrated into the Frankish national law.

At the same time, the Kingdom of Frank had also annihilated the Lorin Duchy with ten thousand troops, an affiliated state of Emperor Aoyue III, which was nearly a direct confrontation with the Emperor.

But the continuous incorporation of the two ancient duchies’ laws into the Frankish national law now directly challenged the true universal law.

Some even began to doubt that the power of the Frankish national law could rival universal law.

The Imperial Parliament was held in a splendid building a hundred meters high, actually constructed as a single floor but built so high to manifest solemnity; the dome of the Imperial Parliament displayed various sacred acts of the Holy Church, the God of All Things’ divine right authorization to ancient civilization emperors, and statues of angels that intimidate evil.

The dome of the Imperial Parliament Hall was extremely luxurious, everything was designed to ensure it truly resembled the heavenly realm of the God of All Things.

Ivita sat in the ordinary seats for lords, while the powerful lords with priority voting rights sat closer to the center. The eight chairs and tables reserved for Electors and the Emperor were located in the very middle of the circular Imperial Parliament Hall.

Among the nations Ivita owned, Alsace had no voting rights in the Imperial Parliament and was not part of the Empire.

Black Sea, Iron Crown, and Ambros were the countries that truly had voting rights.

However, these three countries had either recently joined or, due to historical reasons, had declined and lost their priority voting rights, so Ivita could only sit in the regular row of lords.

This was fine too, as Ivita could greet the three thousand lords within the Empire.

Compared to most of the lords, who only had a single Earl Nation or half an earldom, Ivita was already a king subtly above the Electors, and thus those minor lords sat beside him, silent as cicadas in winter, carefully pandering to him, fearing to offend this tough person who had fought the Emperor several times without suffering.

Ivita couldn’t help but feel sentimental; he only thought of everyone in the Dark Magic Forest as tough because he faced formidable enemies. It turned out most of the lords were kind and honest folk.

In this environment, the Hearthstone Witch thrived even more, seen as a witch close to the power center of Ivita’s authority, thus she was pursued by many lords, already aloft, thinking she was surrounded by stars because of her own high status.

Ivita coughed, interrupting several minor lords in their praise of the Hearthstone Witch, and said, "How could the Kingdom of Frank march so quickly?"

"This is unreasonable."

"They were even able to annihilate two ancient duchies within five days."

The minor lords exchanged glances, all sporting wry smiles.

The Duchy of Lorin and the Duchy of Lower Burgundy were immense entities far beyond their reach.

It was also because of the special circumstances, like Ivita being involved in the war among strong nations in the Dark Magic Forest, that he ended up sitting beside them.

Under normal circumstances, Ivita would probably move up to the front rows within a few years.

He might even be able to run for an Elector state.

A marquis from Zarhu Duchy said to Ivita, "Your Majesty, for the kingdom, these duchies were just political balances and thus were not annexed. Besides, I’ve heard that the Imperial Capital Sea Witch Team, the top witch stronghold of the Frank Kingdom, was already studying the Black Death before its outbreak, deriving a special magic potion from it that can extract human potential."

"I heard that the Frank Kingdom marched so quickly this time because they consumed this special potion."

Ivita raised an eyebrow.

This could very well be true.

But new magic potions generally aren’t mass-produced and administered like this for consumption due to the lack of complete side effects testing.

The Frank Kingdom, in doing so, blatantly disregarded their soldiers as humans.

"It seems that a nation does not hinder them from using their own people like cattle and slaves," Ivita nodded to the Zarhu Old Duke and said, "So, it is like this."

"Old Duke, you are well-informed."

The Zarhu Old Duke smiled. "Being old, of course, I have to make more connections to protect myself. I also want to establish a connection with Your Majesty. If you need anything in the future, just ask me, and if I can help, I certainly will."