Chapter 345: Declaration of a Crusade

Pope Julius was standing upon the balcony of his Palace within the Vatican. Tens of thousands of his supporters were gathered in the holy city to listen to the Vicar of Christ's decree. For many of the rulers of Christendom, what he was about to say came as no surprise.  Yet to the common people, his words were shocking, to say the least.

The Holy Father gazed at the massive crowd gathered before him as he uttered the words from his mouth; the speech he gave would not be expected of God's representative on Earth. Instead, his tone was filled with vitriol and hatred. 

"Berengar the Accursed! I am confident this is a name that every one of you gathered here today is familiar with. If I am the Vicar of Christ, then this man, the self-proclaimed King of Austria, is the Avatar of Satan!