The New Civilization of Witches

Chapter 123: The Church's Offer

On the fourth day after Roland had conquered Stronghold, he summoned all the nobles in and near the area to the castle hall.

Although the majority already knew the news, he thought that he still had to explain it before they all — Western Region had a new master.

When he said that he was going back to Border Town and asked the eldest son of the Honeysuckle Family to take over his successor, all the nobles started arguing immediately. Of course, no one was willing to lead the dissent at the time while the duke's head was still hanging high at the gate and Timothy's defeat made speculators decide to seek outside help.

After the knights of the Honeysuckle Family were redeemed, the other knights captured from other families could not be redeemed. Together with those mercenaries, they would be escorted to Border Town. In Roland's plan, all the mercenaries were sent to the mine for labor reform while the knights would be considered for the job based on their regretful attitude — after all, most knights were learned and could become the first teachers of universal education. They were, of course, forbidden to use weapons for the rest of their lives.

As a result, the power of the Honeysuckle Family would be much greater than the other four families. They have enough armed forces to defend Longsong Fortress and their own Earl territory, Roland thought. And regarding the small confrontation for their benefit among the five families, they are Petrov's responsibility to worry about.

Over the past few days, Roland had taken some time to order his bodyguards to arrest some officials held accountable for causing the Border Town residents to starve and freeze to death two years ago; the Treasurer, Reynolds, had been killed, included. They will accept the people's court in Border Town. The only unfortunate thing was that Earl Hirte Medde, who was trying to burn Roland's army supplies and kill the Greyhound, died on the battlefield without trial.

Now, the traffic between Longsong Fortress and Border Town had fully recovered. Every day for the next seven days, more than 10 yachts would bring material resources to Border Town. Roland guessed that Barov would be very busy taking over the looted coins from the Duke and resettling a large number of immigrants, he said, and he wondered if Karl had built a wooden shed in the meantime as he had commanded.

Thinking about it here, he couldn't wait to return to Border Town as quickly as possible to take charge of the upcoming agricultural project.

After accompanying the nobles to lunch, the castle ushered in a special guest when Roland was about to take a nap.

It was the High Priest, Tylo, in the Longsong Stronghold church.

Suddenly, Roland's drowsiness was killed.

Unlike the Border Town, the church had taken root here a long time ago. They not only built the church but also had a high priest stationed here. This was also the main reason why the prince decided to return to Border Town to develop it — Longsong Fortress had been indoctrinated and influenced by the church for such a long time that any civilian could become an informant them. And his public engagement plans will be curtailed and the risk of witches being exposed will be doubled. Unless the church is uprooted, the reform will go nowhere.

It was perfectly normal for the church to oversee the succession of masters from Longsong Fortress. But what made Roland feel strange was that they had to wait until today to send a representative to make a transaction with him. However, the identity of the representative was not simple. The adherents of the high priest are senior figures in the church and are responsible for overseeing a field similar to that of a secular duke.

As usual, he met with a representative in the hall.

As a middle-aged man in his around forties, High Priest Tylo wore a white robe tailored to the church with a very neat blue border in his clothes and appearance and he behaved like a polite noble. If Roland did not like witches and the Royal Family, he would be happy to talk to such a person.

The high priest must wear a high-quality God's Stone of Retaliation. In case of an accident, Roland told Nightingale before the meeting to stay away from the representative location.

After Tylo saluted, Roland invited him to sit down and ordered his servant to serve tea.

No matter what he thinks, he must behave properly.

“Thank you,” Roland replied in a relaxed tone, “and it seems you don't care if I have killed Duke Ryan and captured Longsong Stronghold.”

“We rarely get involved in those secular disputes. Whoever can give a better life to the people is a good king. Whether he was born from a certain Family or from the Royal Family was not the focus of the church. In fact, promotion in the church never saw the identity of a believer. I was only the son of a farmer, but now a high priest. ” She smiles. “With all due respect, Your Highness, I fear that the sons of the peasants cannot become dukes, right?”

If he launches a rebellion and deposes the royal family, he will become king. Although Roland thought of this, he did not reply and changed the subject directly. “So why are you here, just to send blessings?”

“Sending blessings is only part of it. I'm also here for cooperation.”

“Cooperation? What cooperation?”

“We can provide anything that can help you expand your domain and influence.”

“Wait..” Roland frowned. “You have just said that the church rarely gets involved in secular disputes.”

“Rarely involved does not mean not involved,” said the high priest calmly. “Currently, the quarrel between your elder brother Timothy and Princess Garcia has led to a miserable life for the people of the Southern Region.” I have mentioned that the church considers anyone who can lead people to a peaceful life to be an honorable king. . And you are the right type of person. ”

Roland was astonished and wondered if the high priest implied that they wanted to help him fight for the throne. He asked subconsciously, “Why?”

“You have led the people to fight against the demonic beasts in Border Town and survived the Demonic Moon, which proves your courage and ability. The amount of food you buy from Willow City shows that you don't want people to starve and suffer, which is a sign of kindness. The three noble qualities and the blood of nobles are the reason why we chose you. ”

Roland did not believe those reasons at all, but at least it showed that even though Border Town was covered by thick snow and isolated from the outside, the church still stared at this remote place.

“But how? Sending the Judgement Army to fight for me?”

“We want to quell the war as soon as possible, but it will increase the hatred of most nobles, so we can only help with material resources.” The high priest took two pills from his chest, one red and one black. “This is from the Sacred Prayer Room in the Holy City — which is equivalent to your alchemy workshop. Red pills can make your people temporarily have tremendous power, and black pills can double their pain, cold, and heat tolerance. With these drugs, your army will be unstoppable. And the church only charges the most basic costs of production. ” He stopped. “Each pill is worth five gold royals. I can give you two pills for free as a test sample to prove that what I say is true.”

“What do you ask in return? Expanding the reach of congregations and establishing churches in every region?”

“It was good, of course, but it was our intention to put out the war. As long as people live peacefully, they will naturally come into the arms of God.”

Roland took the pill. “It sounds fantastic, but for now, I don't want to compete to be King of the Kingdom of Graycastle. Besides, both Timothy and Garcia are my closest blood relatives and I don't want to hurt them.”

“I can understand.” The high priest smiled. “But sometimes Family affection does not stop the temptation to get entitlements, especially when you become a hindrance to their rights. The pill is just a starting point, and we can provide a little help. If you decide to go there, you can come look for me at church at any time. ” Hearing this, he stood up and bowed. “I have brought the resolution of the church, and may the Lord be with you, Your Majesty.”