"I promise to continue supporting your teachings to the faithful, maintaining the purity of our doctrine, and eradicating all Heresy!
"The refusal of Iron Anchor Bay to convert is the gift I present to the Church.
"This banquet is also a celebration of victory, and you will soon receive news from the front lines."
"Then I shall look forward to it."
In public, their conversation was brief, but it undoubtedly signified some sort of secretive deal known only to themselves. This was also the reason Red Beard found the Church’s attitude towards the discovery of the York Family’s possession of forbidden knowledge (Chapter 54) quite intriguing. The other nobles did not find this harmonious scene, so different from the Lancaster era, to be strange at all. Because just before that final decisive battle, a miraculous vision of the "Tri-Phantom Sun" had appeared above the York Family. The Tri-Phantom Sun meant three suns appearing in the sky.
Edward declared that these three suns in the sky were the best proof of the Creator’s blessing upon the York Family. It not only represented the Holy Trinity of the Creator in the Church, but it also symbolized the three heirs of the York Family: Edward, George, and Richard. This signified that the York Family’s usurpation of power had the support of the Church, or at the very least, from the Hastings Diocese. Now the York Family was naturally returning the favor.
It was known that although the Hastings Royal Family had converted to the Creator, as an island off the Old Continent, it always had a tense relationship with the Church. They had enacted the "Law of Clergy Appointment," which declared that the election of bishops and other clerical positions within the country would not be interfered with by the Pope. Further, they passed laws forbidding the "unwarranted exercise of ecclesiastical jurisdiction" and banned citizens from making appeals outside the country, stripping the rights of any violators.
During the reign of Henry VI, the "Mad King," the Lancaster Family was just as indifferent towards the Church, only slightly better than the obstinate faction of Iron Anchor Bay. Even more so, the York Family had reliable information that Lancaster was covertly supporting a new schismatic faction within the Church in order to strengthen the monarchy. Clearly, in the Royal Family, among the clans, and even within the supreme Church, who could be in complete agreement? Where there are people, there is strife. Especially since the Great Nautical Age provided ample opportunity for these contradictions to erupt en masse.
But from now on, there would be only one voice in Hightins!
The nobles of the York Party celebrated jubilantly for earning the Church’s support. Having the acknowledgment of this powerful force, superior even to any royal family, would greatly improve the situation of their nascent ruling group. Everything was moving in a favorable direction.
Nearby, an attendee overheard the King and Archbishop’s discussion about the pirate harbor of Iron Anchor Bay. A high-ranking noble toasted a bejeweled noble lady, saying,
"Marchioness, you look exceptionally radiant today. Though Lord Norwich is absent due to his duties, even from a thousand miles away, we all stand united with him."
Whether she was radiant was debatable, but her husband, Norwich York, was Edward IV’s youngest uncle. Now that the Yorks had succeeded in rising from great nobles to a royal family, upon his return from a major victory, it wasn’t impossible for him to be granted a dukedom. The Marchioness might not be particularly beautiful, but the halo above her head was undeniably resplendent.
"Thank you, Earl. Where the King’s banner points, the York Family shall be invincible. I believe my husband and son will soon add their own luster to the glory of the White Rose."
"Of course, I have always believed this to be true."
The two beneficiaries of the York Family’s ascent smiled at each other and raised their glasses with the others.
"Victory belongs to the Kingdom!"
Edward IV also smiled, lifting his glass of red wine, and proclaimed, "Honor to our warriors on the front lines, victory belongs to everyone present as well."
Before his words had subsided, a messenger on a swift horse galloped up to the entrance.
"Haha, our war report has arrived! Quickly, inform all the closest friends of the York Family, ladies and gentlemen, about the results from the front lines!"
Richard, the youngest of the three brothers, his eyes lit up. He had clearly never imagined any other outcome and immediately issued an order.
Guided by a servant, the messenger brought the urgent dispatch from the Navy Department to the King’s presence. Glancing at the expectant expressions of the three royal brothers and the guests, he hesitated for a moment before speaking in a strained, low voice, revealing bad news that simply could not be concealed.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, the First Fleet of the Strait Fleet, which was on a mission in Iron Anchor Bay, has sent an urgent military report.
"Just now, the secret weapon codenamed ’Calamity’ accidentally lost control, and the main warships, Third-Rate and above, in the Fleet have been completely destroyed.
"Only a few cruisers were fortunate enough to land on the Eternal Night Peninsula.
"Eyewitnesses confirmed that Fleet Commander General Norwich York, and the nearly twenty Law Mages accompanying him on board, had all perished in battle.
"And... and... they all say they heard it with their own ears—this was the trial of [The Mad Hunt] spoken of in Bayfolk legends!"
Upon hearing this disastrous news, even Edward IV, who had weathered countless storms and endured more than one defeat, felt his throat constrict and a wave of dizziness wash over him. His body swayed, and he nearly collapsed where he stood.
"The fleet wiped out... everyone... dead?!!"
The wife of old Norwich, who had just been longing for her husband to advance further and make her a duchess, went black at the eyes and fainted on the spot. And she was far from the only one to faint on the scene. Most of the guests here didn’t know about the secret weapon codenamed ’Calamity’. But they knew that the Law Mages, so painstakingly cultivated by their own families, were also on those ships! All of them had gone down with the Strait Fleet in Iron Anchor Bay.
"No, this can’t be true!"
The dozen or so Law Mages, whom only the great noble families had the privilege to foster, naturally corresponded to a dozen great families. They were all present at this banquet, every single one. Following the messenger, servants from various families also hurriedly entered the palace, bringing news of their family members’ Life Gems shattering. With no illusions left in their hearts, who knows how many fainted in an instant.
"Quickly, a doctor! Get a doctor over here, quickly!"
For most people, it was joy turning to sorrow, plummeting from heaven to hell in an instant. On its very first opening, Ganquan Palace had turned a celebratory feast into a funeral. Ironically, as if foreshadowing something, the Fleet’s flagship was named the ’King Edward’. The crushing defeat fragmented the unity that had, just moments before, been unprecedented. Beneath the shining lights, even the gilded royal crest in the banquet hall seemed to dim a little.
The news of the battle at Iron Anchor Bay didn’t just reach Edward IV. It spread like wildfire along the entire North Sea Coast in just a few short days. Some mourned and grieved, while others wept tears of joy.
「In the northern Strait Islands, the Grenville Earldom, adjacent to the Byron family’s Sorenburg Principality.」
Within a manor encircled by the York Family’s private army, Catherine Grenville, the last member of this ancient family, pressed an issue of the Lighthouse Weekly—documenting the battle at Iron Anchor Bay—forcefully against her heaving chest. With reddening eyes and a slightly stinging nose, she murmured to herself,
"You little brat, you’re really still alive! I knew it. I just knew a scourge like you wouldn’t die so easily."
"It’s wonderful, truly wonderful!"