The witch thought I am a Demon God
Chapter 1009 - 516 The Empire Declares War on the Kingdom of Frank_2

Chapter 1009: Chapter 516 The Empire Declares War on the Kingdom of Frank_2

Just as everyone began to vote, the Bishop of Liege from the seats of the ordinary princes suddenly stood up and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, why must this war involve all the nations of the Holy Empire? Has the Kingdom of Frank declared war on the Emperor, the Holy Empire, and the grand Imperial Parliament?"

"Ladies and gentlemen, our soldiers and properties are exceedingly valuable. Why should we compensate for the affairs of others with our own properties? Of course, if the King of Alsace can compensate us for our losses, then it would be reasonable to help Alsace against the Kingdom of Frank."

Ivita did not look at him, her expression impassive.

The Duke of Zarhu cautiously glanced at Ivita’s face, then explained, "Don’t take this guy’s words to heart."

"Your Majesty Ivita."

"The Liege Diocese has long been allies with the Kingdom of Frank, and there was even a time when the position of Bishop of Liege was permanently held by the second son of the Frank Royal Family. Therefore, it is not surprising for the Bishop of Liege to say such things in public."

Ivita nodded; everyone could see why he was so biased towards Frank.

The words of the Bishop of Liege also garnered the approval of many princes, some of whom had been bought by the Kingdom of Frank, while others genuinely did not want to participate in the war.

Emperor Aoyue III squinted his eyes. Although he was pleased to see Ivita at a disadvantage, the Bishop of Liege was clearly about to slap his face as well.

The intention of the Emperor was well known to the princes through a roll-call vote.

But the Bishop of Liege deliberately ignored it, treating the Emperor’s authority as nothing.

For the Emperor of the Holy Empire, those intangible things were actually the most tangible. If the princes found out that even the Emperor was so vulnerable, his plans would never be realized, and the Holy Empire would fall apart.

On this point, the seven Electors also began to choose to support Emperor Aoyue III. In a sense, the Electors were privileged nations within the Empire, and protecting the interests of the Holy Empire also meant protecting their own interests.

Thus, the seven Electors began to speak up for the Emperor and Ivita.

"Alsace has now rejoined the Empire. In fact, the Kingdom of Frank’s attack on Alsace is akin to attacking the Empire itself."

"The Frank-Alsace war should not be regarded as a simple local conflict; it is more like a declaration of war against the entire Empire."

"The Bishop of Liege is still too young. I’ve heard that the Bishop of Liege is the illegitimate son of the previous Law King, and a blood brother to the current Law King. You must not betray the interests of the Empire for personal relationships."

The Bishop of Liege is a religious noble, which is noble, and some things, even if everyone understands, are embarrassing to say out loud.

The Bishop of Liege stared at the regent ambassador of the Potzstan Kingdom attending the meeting in place of the Witch Queen and said, "Regent of the Potzstan Kingdom, mind how you speak. Your statements are merely rumors."

"I am a servant of the God of All Things; how can I allow you to slander me like this?"

"Moreover, you Electors are not without fault. Among the three major kingdoms’ Electors, two are manipulated by the Witch Queen. It truly is a case of ’turning a deaf ear’; has the Holy Empire become the Witch Empire now?"

"That Sylimia Kingdom is also manipulated by a bizarre organization known as Scholar City. You all..."

Seeing that the Bishop of Liege had derailed the topic, the vote was able to proceed as usual. This was a clever tactic used by the Potzstan regent to divert everyone’s attention.

As the Bishop of Liege argued, the princes had forgotten what he had previously said and began to cast their votes continuously.

Archbishop of Mainz kept tallying the votes, and half an hour later, he looked at the silent princes and Knights waiting for the verdict and said, "The final voting result is that the Empire will commence an all-out war against the Kingdom of Frank."

Emperor Aoyue III revealed a satisfied smile.

So did Ivita, as after all, this matter was entirely relevant to her interests.

The enthused supporters invited by Emperor Aoyue III clapped wildly as the entire Empire declared war on the Kingdom of Frank in a united front.

As the Imperial Parliament deliberated the resolution, the Universal Law: Holy forcefully pressed towards the location of the Kingdom of Frank in the west.

At that moment, countless professionals from Frank felt their power being suppressed, reduced by about ten percent, and their bodies’ healing abilities were also inhibited, meaning their endurance would drastically decrease in the upcoming war.

But soon after, the Law of Franke began to resist, protecting the people of the land.

Originally, even a fragmented Universal Law could completely suppress the Law of Franke, but with the continuous conquests of the Duchy of Lower Burgundy and the Lorin Duchy, the national Law of the Kingdom of Franke had reached an unprecedented level.

This was a height that a scattered regional law could never achieve.

At this moment, both laws were actually engaged in battle.

All the people on the Land of Franke gradually felt their discomfort fade, leaving only a slight fatigue that was imperceptible unless carefully felt.

The overwhelming power had almost completely vanished.

The result of this edgeless confrontation made many people internally weigh the situation, recognizing that the problems with the Kingdom of Franke were indeed quite severe.

Emperor Aoyue III was the last to realize. "I always thought Ivita was the threat to my role; it turns out I was clueless."

"Fortunately, this time I’ve discovered the true face of the Kingdom of Franke."

"After dealing with the Kingdom of Franke, it’s not too late to deal with Ivita."

Ivita thought, "I had never expected the Kingdom of Franke to have grown to a power that could rival the Empire. All this time, I have been battling such an existence."

"The Kingdom of Franke cannot possibly surpass the Empire on paper, but the Empire is like a zombie, already brain-dead."

Ivita looked at Emperor Aoyue III. "The Emperor is behind the times; let alone the grudge between him and me, that’s just a minor point. But at this level, he really isn’t fit to be the Emperor of the Empire."

At this moment, Ivita felt the same emotions that a young Aoyue III once had, believing he could replace him and do better.

Aoyue III said, "As Alsace Kingdom is currently without a ruler, I will serve as the marshal of the Empire."

"No objections, right?!"

"Mainz, Münster, and Cologne are ecclesiastical territories and also the speakers of the Imperial Parliament; thus, each nation needs only to send three thousand five hundred soldiers. The Duchy of Pulphaz, although an Elector, is merely a duchy, so it needs to send only eight thousand soldiers. The three major kingdoms need to send over fifteen thousand soldiers, and I, as the Emperor, will lead thirty thousand."

"The rest of the common princes need to send three hundred soldiers; if no soldiers can be spared, they can pay the tax equivalent to three years of a soldier’s salary to the Imperial tax as a substitute."

"Numerous Knight territories need to send at least one knight each. The attendants, servants, and footmen serving the knights are not limited, but note that each Knight’s territory must send one knight or it will be deprived of its status."

Those unable to produce a knight can instead pay the tax equivalent to three years of a knight’s expenses.

These all were routine operations, so Aoyue III spoke very quickly.

In this way, the Empire could theoretically muster millions of troops, but most princes would opt to pay money instead of sending men.

Some princes even liked to play tricks when paying money, such as underreporting and so on...

Even if they sent men, there were too many ways to cheat by sending subpar troops.

Thus, although these expenses were not too onerous for the countries of the Empire, Aoyue III still couldn’t muster many men.

The Archbishop of Mainz seemed to ask kindly, "Can the Emperor even gather thirty thousand men? If even the Emperor can’t gather thirty thousand, we princes certainly can’t either."

"And surely the Emperor’s army must be of high quality, not just filling numbers."

Aoyue III gave him a cold look. "That’s my concern, you needn’t worry about it."

Aoyue III turned to Ivita. "Since Alsace is the battlefield, I hope Alsace will fully support the Imperial Army."

Ivita wasn’t so naive to think conserving his energy was an advantage, so he nodded: "Of course."