It was only a matter of days before the news of Marquis Polo's betrayal spread around the realm.
Alphonse could only momentarily celebrate that the Pope suffered a massive blow. The Pope's loss was Victor's gain. With the West soon to be fully under Victor's control, Alphonse knew that his situation was bleak. Except for Madena, Alphonse and his supporters are trapped in the central region.
As for the Pope, he was beside himself with anger. It was a rare sight to see Constantine show such raw and unfiltered emotion like that, especially rage. The other cardinals tried to calm the Pope, but they knew that they could not subdue his rage.
With Marquis Polo joining the Kingdom of Luxenberg, the two Counts in the west who were loyal to the Pope were quick to declare for Victor. Count Pompei and Count Nero both sent messenger pigeons swearing their loyalty to Victor.
What Victor did not expect was that 3 southern Counts that were loyal to the Pope had renounced their allegiance to him and sworn their fealty to Victor. This was due to how unstoppable Victor appeared to be. He had not lost a battle, and every city that he stood before ended up flying the golden eagle of the Luxenberg family.
When the news finally broke to the Pope, he and the other cardinals began to panic.
"What do you mean, our supporters have betrayed us?" Pope Constantine yelled.
Cardinal Rufus gulped as he read the report from his spies. "Counts Baggio, Donatello and Cerebi have all been seen flying the Luxenberg coat of arms."
"Traitors, the lot of them. They will be punished by God's wrath," Cardinal Rossini exclaimed, slamming his hand against the wall.
"We must sue for peace. Perhaps King Luxenberg will show us mercy," Cardinal Naso suggested.
"I concur, it will not be long until the Luxenberg forces arrive at our doorsteps. Do you think the people of Florenzia will stand with us against Victor Luxenberg? Personally, I think they will surrender, and with that surrender, we will be served up on a silver platter. If we sue for peace, then mercy may be shown to us." Cardinal Crispus added.
"Cowards, it is too late for that!" Cardinal Rufus hissed.
The cardinals bickered amongst themselves, trying to find a solution, while the Pope looked to the sky. "God, have you truly abandoned us? How can we stand against them with so few numbers?" He thought to himself.
They would not have long to think and prepare. Victor's army marched straight to Florenzia. It would take them just under two months to get there, but they were emboldened. The war was heavily in their favour, and soon this pointless civil war would be concluded.
Along their march, General Rapp, General Tauentzien and General Tuchkov rejoined the main army. There was no point in their acting as a garrison when Count Greco and Count Vella were now vassals of Marquis Polo, who was now loyal to Victor.
Victor's main army was not the only army marching. Marquis Polo would lead the western nobles along the southern coast towards Madena. Counts Cerebi, Donatello and Baggio would pledge their men and supplies to support them. Additionally, the eastern nobles under the command of Count Valentine marched towards Napo. The forces of the Kingdom of Luxenberg were now in full attack mode.
Two months would pass in the blink of an eye. By the time Victor had arrived at Florenzia, he had already received news from Count Valentine. Napo had been captured with a fair bit of casualties.
15,000 men were lost in the siege, but they successfully killed Count Matteo Vegni and his army stationed in Napo. With Napo captured, the army of Count Valentine would restore order to the city while awaiting new orders.
The arrival of Victor's army at Florenzia gave many of the garrison flashbacks to when Victor and Alphonse besieged the city. Many recalled the death of Nero Florent, who valiantly fought against Victor, but ultimately died in theprocess. Mixed emotions stirred as some wished to avenge Nero while others wished to avoid sharing his fate.
There were 8,000 Soldiers of Christ stationed in Florenzia, so the citizens could not willingly surrender the Pope to Victor. Instead, all they could do was open the gate for Victor's army and stay out of the way.
At first, Victor thought this was a trap, but after a while, General Tauentzien and his 3rd Corps led the way into the city. There was no resistance from the walls, no chokepoints set up, no houses barricaded. The only defences that were set up were outside the Florent Palace. The Pope and his soldiers had entrenched themselves, hoping to make a last stand.
Wanting to avoid a bloodbath, Victor sent emissaries to treat with the Pope, hoping to come to a surrender, but each time they were turned away. For the sake of a peaceful outcome, Victor waited two days to see if Pope Constantine could come to a reasonable decision.
Unfortunately, no decision would ever come, forcing Victor to assault the palace. Smaller cannons were carted into the city and set up a perimeter around the palace. Battalions of infantry were deployed and ordered to swarm the palace. Their sheer firepower and numerical superiority would overwhelm the elite Christian defenders.
A maelstrom of musketballs engulfed the palace. The constant fire of muskets and cannons had once again ruined the marvellous palace. Blood would stain its walls once more, and corpses would pile high in the courtyard.
The Soldiers of Christ fought to the bitter end, their resistance incredible. They made sure to go out in a blaze of glory, trying to take as many enemies as they could. By the time the last Soldier of Christ fell, the siege had lasted 6 hours. They may have been annihilated, but they took 20,000 enemy soldiers with them.
Florenzia was captured, and with that, so was the Pope and four of his cardinals.