After entering the city, all the nobles gathered around His Majesty the Emperor and His Holiness the Pope to the seat of the Holy See on the hill northwest of the city of Rome and entered the rectangular chamber of St. Peter's Basilica.

It had long been cleaned and decorated by the servants, and the conquerors did not hesitate to decorate the old and sacred buildings with brightly colored cloths and monastery flowers, showing the strength of the German Empire.

The church was built by Constantine the Great of the Roman Empire on the basis of St. Peter's cemetery, and was presided over by a designer from Greece, using expensive pure white marble transported from the Peloponnese, and it took seven years to build the largest basilica in the world.

After hundreds of years of ups and downs, because St. Peter was the closest and most loyal disciple of Jesus, the leader who took over the mantle and continued to preach after Jesus ascended to heaven, and was posthumously regarded as the first pope by later generations, the church where the sacred relics were buried has now become a place for the pope to stay and receive foreign guests.

The Italian nobles and their families crowded around the hall, smiling at the German nobles they knew or didn't know, selling their loyalty to Germany.

The Emperor's Praetorian Guards stood straight in front of the crowd to maintain order, and some of the knights who participated in the war also stood in the crowd in armor, but their murderous aura was in stark contrast to the Italian nobles who were as funny as the clowns beside them.

"Interesting scene, isn't it?"

Duke Henry, dressed in a red shawl representing his noble status and a soft silk hat made with great interest, looked at the lively hall like the vegetable market in front of him and said to me:

"The descendants of the Romans have become the softbones who only know how to compare wealth and show off fashion, and do not know whether we should feel sad or happy as their enemies."

I smiled politely, and sorted out my newly made beaver skin trimmed robe, a delicately made garment that cost fifty silver coins before and after, thinking that the handmade Italian fashion that would be limited to the world in later generations was now being worn on myself, and I finally realized the benefits of being a nobleman.

"At least they have now learned how to serve the strong, the abundant goods and prosperous trade of the Apennines will greatly improve Germany's increasingly stretched finances in order to cope with potential adversaries around it, as long as we have a little more time to prepare, the complete conquest of the Low Countries is about to become a reality, and the grandeur of Charlemagne's era is about to reappear, God willing!"

Duke Henry listened to my words and looked me up and down as if he didn't know: "How did you put on luxurious clothes, and suddenly learned such an official statement, Count Randy, who has always been regarded as a challenger to traditional rules in aristocratic circles, actually began to talk about the glory of the country all the time, I have to say that your sword is on the wrong side, once again subverting everyone's perception of you." ”

"Then I can only thank you for your compliments to me, and may God bless you, noble Duke!" I clumsily performed a newly learned aristocratic etiquette to Duke Henry, and the antics made the Duke laugh heartily.

"Seriously, His Majesty the Emperor and His Majesty the Pope have been preparing for too long, perhaps in this way, they want to polish the arrogance of the newly annexed Italian nobles and establish their authority." Duke Henry craned his neck to look at the door of the church, which was still not moving, and said the true purpose of His Majesty the Emperor.

"Hehe......"

I smiled stupidly, but I was thinking: Damn retarded! I won't say it, it's a story I told to His Holiness the Pope before......

While everyone was looking around, a richly dressed attendant came to the stage with a scepter, struck the ground twice to remind everyone to be quiet, and then cried out in a very tiresome shrill voice:

"The Bishop of Rome, the representative of Christ walking on earth, the successor of the Lord of the Disciples, the Supreme Pope, the Sovereign of the West, the Archbishop of Italy and the servant of the servants of God, His Majesty the Holy Pope has arrived!"

After saying that, he struck the ground twice with his scepter, kicking up a fine cloud of dust.

The Pope appeared in the hall with a gentle smile underneath, wearing the triple crown of the Pope on his head, nodding and smiling at every nobleman who bent down in a friendly manner.

Then the attendant struck the scepter again and demanded silence from the audience, and continued to shout: "The Emperor of the Romans, the King of the Kingdom of East Francia, the Grand Duke of the Duchy of Saxony, the Conqueror of Italy and the Magyars, the Co-Monarch of All Germanic Peoples, His Majesty Otto III, Forever Victorious, has arrived!" ”

Emperor Otto, dressed in a velvet robe trimmed with gold and pearls, and with a delicate gold crown on his head, and holding two attendants by the shoulders, walked into the church with his toes proud, and on both sides of the road he passed, the nobles and knights bowed like a tide, and the majesty of the supreme man in the world overwhelmed the people.

Walking to the platform in the hall and standing still, His Majesty the Emperor looked around at the nobles who were humbly saluting, and then nodded at the Pope Ni beside him with a smile, and the two of them sat on the throne side by side, and then the others straightened up under the leadership of several prominent Grand Dukes, and stood quietly in their places waiting for the next instructions.

"Those who are here today are the most loyal warriors and supporters of Germany, and it is with the gift of God and the cooperation of all of us that we have finally put down the rebels in Italy and restored the glory of the Lord to this civilized land!"

His Majesty the Emperor paused for a moment, looking at the Grand Dukes and the great nobles of Italy standing at the front, as if examining the false smile on their faces, and the nobles who were being watched had to grin harder, and His Majesty retracted his gaze with satisfaction and continued:

"As the instigator of this rebellion, Duke Cresenti will be executed and sent to the Quartet as punishment for his rebellion against the trust of Germany several times, and all nobles and knights who follow the rebellion will be stripped of their fiefs and hereditary titles, and excommunicated from the Church, no longer under God's protection!"

As he spoke, he turned his head sideways to look at the smiling and silent Pope, who returned His Majesty with a smile of understanding, which could be regarded as proving the authenticity and reliability of the Emperor's orders to everyone.

As soon as His Majesty Otto's words fell, it was like dropping a bombshell in the crowd, and everyone exploded at once, and they began to talk to each other like headless flies.

Some people gloated about the imminent punishment of their opponents and secretly rejoiced in their hearts, some people were bloodless, just because they had a distant relative who participated in the rebellion, and some people looked left and right expressionlessly.

"Quiet!"

The attendant struck the scepter at the signal of His Majesty the Emperor and scolded loudly, and the nobles quieted down when they heard the voice, and looked down at the two supremes, but some of them were already trembling with fright, and if they were not supported by the people around them, it was estimated that they were likely to faint on the spot.

His Majesty Otto looked at the obedient nobles in front of him with satisfaction, and nodded slightly imperceptibly: "Don't let these unhappy things ruin the beautiful atmosphere of today, gather everyone here, the main thing is to let everyone witness the growth of the royal family again, a famous knight is about to swear allegiance, please don't be stingy with your blessings, and praise the great Almighty God to your heart's content!" ”

Hearing His Majesty's words, I subconsciously grabbed the placket of the robe, because I knew that what was about to take place was my canonization ceremony, and His Holiness Pope Ni would personally preside over the blessing, which was the glory that every Christian warrior dreams of, and everyone who learned the news looked at me with envious eyes, of course, it was more of the jealousy of Chiluoluo and the excessive enthusiastic flattery of the noble ladies, damn it, don't look at me with such eyes!

"Viscount Randy, please step forward!"

His Majesty the Emperor said to me, who was standing in the crowd uneasily, and the people flashed out of the passageway, and as they watched me walk forward with their heads bowed, whispering to the people on the right and left commenting on my magnificent robes, for a moment I felt like a beast on display in the circus, pathetic and merriful to attract customers, and willingly put on a glittering royal chain made of gold.

"Get on your knees!"

The attendant said in a voice as shrill as a eunuch, and I stole a look at his crotch with bad intentions, and it looked empty.

Emperor Otto took the long sword with a ruby on the hilt handed by his attendants, touched the back of my neck and shoulders with the back of his sword, and then read the oath aloud:

"Eternal and Almighty God, the only hope on earth, the Supreme Creator of heaven and earth, we sincerely pray to you, from the highest dwelling, to look down on your people, in the name of Saint Peter, by his virtues, to your most merciful Emperor, Otto, to you the most merciful Lord."

"In the beauty of the woodlands, in the dominion of thy blessed dominion, the lords of the land have placed the land under divine protection, under thy protection, the waters of heaven hasten the growth of fruits, bring life, under thy protection, the abundant grains, and the strifes of heaven flowing from the thorn gathering place wash away the noise of the earthly world, and all abundance shall belong to God, and there will be more to come."

"In the name of the Holy and Indivisible Trinity, Amen! I, Otto III, the God-given Emperor of the Romans, the King of the Kingdom of East Francia, the Grand Duke of the Duchy of Saxony, the conqueror of Italy and the Magyars, the co-monarch of all Germanic peoples, am a witness to this moment all my life! ”

"This noble gentleman, the virtue and wisdom that everyone reads, the knight of the German Empire who is brave and loyal, Viscount Randy Adrian Hoffmann, I grant you the castle and the land of Nijmegen, and the people who toiled on it."

"Fearless before a strong enemy, Lord may thou be brave and upright, defend the truth with your life, and save the helpless, this is your vow, remember them until the moment you stand at the gates of heaven and be canonized as Count of Nijmegen!"

I reverently repeated my vow to His Majesty: "I swear by my life that I will give everything to you, and I will remember humility, honor, sacrifice, valor, mercy, spirituality, honesty, justice,"

"My sword is here, I and it will protect you before I fall, my soul after death will also guard your territory, my loyalty is my armor, shed my blood for you, my sword is here, I will dedicate my soul and my life at the feet of the god of justice, my blood will be sprinkled on the battlefield with honor, my sword is here, the Lord bless it to be sharp forever, unless its owner bows his head, it will never break!"

"I swear allegiance to you, the Emperor of the Romans, the King of East Francia, the Grand Duke of Saxony, the conqueror of Italy and Magyars, the co-monarch of all Germanic peoples, and as long as I have a breath of air, I will be loyal to you, and I will fight your enemies to the end when you need to!"

"Finally, I will defend your rightful royal right and the rights of your rightful heirs."

After reciting a long string of oaths, I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, in order to memorize it word for word, I took out the forced memory nirvana used to cope with the exam back then, this kind of big move hurts the internal strength.

His Majesty the Emperor handed me the clay and salt, which symbolized the right to rule, with a holy expression, and then His Majesty the Pope blessed my sword, sprinkled holy water on me, and took the lead in reciting a long passage of the Bible, and when I was about to suffocate from fatigue, the Pope Ni took the palm open on my head, and the whole canonization ceremony was finally over.

"Friends, let us share the glory and joy of the Count of Nijmegen!"

His Majesty the Emperor opened his arms and spoke in a contagious voice, announcing the beginning of the most anticipated celebratory banquet that accompanied the canonization ceremony.