Could you check if you have this file in the pathway below?
"steamapps\common\Mount & Blade II Bannerlord\GUI\GauntletUI\spriteData.xml"
If so can you delete it and try again?
We don't use this xml anymore and if you have installed any mods prior this xml could be changed. The game still wants to use it if thats the case.
This should be deleted if the clean install workaround steps have been done appropriately. Do you remember seeing this file in the game folder after an uninstall?
I went to the pathway, and I found the spriteData.xml. I deleted it, and I could get past the area where I was crashing.
However, now I have an additional problem. When I click start a new campaign, I can play the cutscene, and I can select a faction, but when it takes me to the character creation screen I suffer a crash.
Crash ID: 2022-01-25_01.13.26_ca02d74e611f50dabaf6c035c245a4f0