Green Monster Epic

Chapter 771: Church Interests

The western edge of humanity, bordering the ocean, extends a fist-shaped peninsula called Desolate Wind, home to the Desolate Wind Kingdom, which worships the God of War as its national religion.

Because of their constant dealings with the unpredictable ocean and the harassment from marine creature groups who believe in the Lord of Storms, the people here are fierce and martial, creating a fertile ground for preaching the faith of the God of War.

The Pope and core high-level members of the War Church reside on an island formed by an active volcano, a dozen miles off the coast of the peninsula. To outsiders, the ceaseless eruptions of flames and lava are extremely dangerous, but to the members of the War Church, who possess mysterious magic and vast knowledge, this volcano is an inexhaustible source of energy and a treasure trove of resources.

A vast complex of temple buildings is built on the crater of the active volcano, with a towering statue of the God of War suppressing the entire crater beneath its feet. Occasionally, the thick smoke and flames erupting from the active volcano soar into the sky, scorching the statue, which is made of some strange material, into a bright red, as if the majestic and awe-inspiring deity is personally descending upon the Feyman world, which is quite shocking.

However, today, the focus of Pope Liszt of the War Church, the one closest to the deity, is not on the statue that is once again glowing red, but on a document that was urgently delivered to his hands.

"...Your Holiness, this is the best time for our Lord's glory to once again envelop the mainland! The Desolate Wind Peninsula is bitterly cold and difficult, and production and life are not easy. Our Lord is limited by the number of believers, and his grace and power have not been able to develop greatly. This is the fault of us shepherds."

"...Now there is a great opportunity to enter the mainland and possibly become the national religion of the Lionheart Kingdom. Your subordinate believes that Your Holiness should personally attend the coronation ceremony to plan for future progress."

"...A rift has appeared between the Lionheart Kingdom and the current national religion, the Church of the Afflicted. The church does not approve of the king's appointed heir and has firmly stated that it will not crown the king's heir. To cope with the current situation, the Lionheart King has been planning for more than a decade, and the long-term development of our War Church in the Lionheart Kingdom has benefited from this."

"...Although our church is only a bargaining chip in the Lionheart Kingdom's competition with the Church of the Afflicted, and the subsequent development depends on whether the Church of the Afflicted will make concessions, the war between royal power and divine power has already begun. In the future, the two forces within the Lionheart Kingdom will likely have a more intense power struggle."

"Our War Church should certainly stand on the side of divine power, but for countless years, our Lord has been suppressed by the three great deities of Loyalty, Justice, and the Afflicted, and our preachers and shepherds have also been driven away from the mainland. Now that we finally have the opportunity to return to the mainland and take back what was once lost from the Church of the Afflicted, this does not mean that we are betraying the alliance of deities."

"...Please consider this carefully, Your Holiness, and give a reply as soon as possible. Otherwise, if the opportunity is missed, it may take countless years for our Lord's glory to create brilliance again!!!"

"..."

Pope Liszt of the War Church has dark skin and an ordinary face. If it weren't for the robes, scepter, and other items that set him off, anyone who saw him in ordinary coarse linen clothing would probably think he was a sailor who had been fishing and hunting for many years.

The content of the document was sincere and thought-provoking, and Pope Liszt couldn't help but nod from time to time. However, after reading to the end of the letter, a layer of difficulty appeared on the Pope's face, and it was clear that his heart was in a battle between heaven and man.

The conflict between divine power and royal power is not limited to the Lionheart Kingdom. It has also appeared in other human kingdoms, but the degree of manifestation is different. With the development of human civilization, the broadening of horizons of the middle and lower classes, and the gradual popularization of magic and knowledge, the veil covering divine power is no longer mysterious, and royal power has gradually risen as a result.

At this time, if one wants to stabilize the existing power and status of divine power, the churches of the human pantheon need to unite and face the outside world together. Only in this way can the speed of the disintegration of divine power be slowed down.

Faced with the challenge from the Lionheart Kingdom, although it is ostensibly aimed at the Church of the Afflicted and seems to have nothing to do with other churches, a deep and calm observation of this struggle reveals that it is very likely to be an opportunity for royal power to gradually come to the fore and officially open the curtain on the struggle between royal power and divine power in the future.

If royal power gains the upper hand in this struggle, and the Church of the Afflicted, as the representative of divine power, has to make concessions, then the ears and eyes of other kingdoms secretly watching this struggle will inevitably pass these messages back to their respective royal families, and the resulting chain reaction will be unpredictable.

Therefore, the War Church should not get involved at this time. At the very least, it should stay out of it and let the Church of the Afflicted suppress the budding royal power rising in the Lionheart Kingdom. This will help the entire human pantheon of churches continue to manage and influence the secular world according to the rules of the past tens of thousands of years.

However, just like the content in the document, Liszt is also unwilling for the War Church to continue to shrink back to the Desolate Wind Peninsula. They yearn to please the God of War and allow their great deity to play a more powerful role in the human pantheon, so that the glory of mankind can illuminate the entire Feyman world.

The horn of the war of civilization has already begun to sound, but the God of War, who should have been the protagonist, and his followers can only become followers of the Lord of Dawn, the God of Justice, and other powerful deities and churches. How can the God of War, who bears the authority of war, bear this!!

In the final analysis, it is because the War Church has developed too few believers in recent years to help their great Lord complete the improvement of divine power.

But why has the War Church been gradually marginalized in recent years?

Isn't it because the authority and source of divine power of the God of War need to be maximized by inciting war? In the eyes of other deities and their believers, launching wars between human forces is of little benefit to the development of human civilization, but instead brings great harm. Therefore, the Church of Justice, the Church of Light, and others, upholding the divine messages of their respective deities, suppress and exile the War Church, eventually forcing the War Church to migrate and develop only in the chaotic lands of the Western Frontier.

Resentment in his heart and the temptation of real interests are constantly shaking Liszt's reason. After a final struggle, he simply got up and headed to the prayer room.

"...My Lord, your lost lamb needs your guidance. Should I go to Lionheart City to attend the coronation ceremony of the new king?"

His soul bathed in a magnificent and sacred light, Liszt truthfully reported the matter of the document and the current situation to the omnipresent Lord God.

Listening to the confusion in the heart of his spokesperson in the Feyman world, the sacred existence shrouded in the magnificent holy light did not make Liszt wait long.

"Permitted."

“… … If the Lionheart Kingdom's royal family abandons the Suffering Church's Pope's coronation and instead invites your humble people to crown the heir, what should I choose?”

“Accept it.”

“… …”

After a moment of prayer, the confusion in Rhys's eyes disappeared, replaced by a strong and spirited fighting will on his face. Since even the main god he served had agreed to let him go east to attend the ceremony, what did he have to worry about! !

It was a good opportunity to pay back the Suffering Church's arrogant fellows for all the exclusion, suppression, grievances, and malice he had suffered from other churches over the years, and let them understand that the clergy members of the War Church were all powerful warriors with blood and fighting spirit! !

“Men, prepare the carriages and manpower, I am going to the Lionheart Kingdom to attend the ceremony! ! !”

“Yes! ! !”

The sound of the footsteps of the guard captain in front of the door gradually faded away, and someone also went to inform the other high-level members of the church. Before leaving, Rhys still needed to give certain instructions and arrangements to the church.

… … … …

“Your Eminence, we have confirmed that Bishop Glinton of the War Church in the royal capital met with Prime Minister Sunak of the kingdom late at night. Sunak stayed in the inner hall of the War Church for more than three magic hours before leaving.”

“We have not been able to determine exactly what they talked about, but it is said that after the secret meeting with Sunak, Bishop Glinton locked himself in the study and did not leave until early the next morning.”

“Obviously, Prime Minister Sunak intends to use the power of the War Church to put pressure on us, forcing us to compromise by inviting the Pope of the War Church to attend the ceremony.”

“So what? The Lionheart Kingdom's state religion is still our Suffering Church. The people and nobles in the kingdom are more willing to recognize our orthodoxy. Do they dare to risk offending the people and support the War Church instead? ? ”

“If they dare to do that, then we can make sure they can't step down! ! ”

Inside the inner hall of the Suffering Church, seven or eight humans wearing gray short robes and trousers, or robes that dragged to the ground, were engaged in fierce discussions.

At the head of the long table in the wide inner hall, a lean human with gray-white hair and robes, looking to be in his sixties, was resting his chin in his hands, his eyes blankly lost in thought, as if he was not affected by the noisy arguments in the hall.

“And how will you make them unable to step down?”

“It's simple! Summon the nobles who serve my Lord, and let them win over the officials in the court to launch criticisms; incite the believers and subjects in the royal capital, and let them put up banners outside the palace and shout protests… …“

“Nonsense! This is probably what those stubborn fellows like King Dazel are hoping for… …”

“Your Eminence, we still need you to make a decision! ! ”

“… … Ah? Oh!”

Hearing the bishops below looking at him with one after another, Pope Zachariah woke up from his contemplation: “Do you think Rhys will accept the invitation and come to attend the ceremony?”

“Definitely! ! ”

“Yes. This is a great opportunity for their church to intervene in the kingdom! ! ”

“That's not necessarily true! Don't they care about our alliance? ? ”

“It's funny that you say that. When we excluded and suppressed their missionaries and priests, we didn't necessarily consider these things! ! ”

“Okay! ! ”

Zachariah was annoyed and raised his voice a little. A solemn majesty immediately silenced the surrounding bishops.

“This time, the struggle between us and the royal family will be more difficult than the throne succession struggle thirty-five years ago. If we take a step back, then the royal hyenas who have benefited will inevitably increase their efforts to divide and seize our secular power.”

“So this time we cannot back down. Just like thirty-five years ago, we must let the royal family re-select the heir according to our requirements! ! ”

“Rhys and the War Church are a problem. Although for tens of thousands of years, the coronation ceremony of the Lionheart Kingdom's throne heir has been presided over by our Suffering Church, if the royal family persuades Rhys to preside over the coronation, there is no major problem in terms of legal principles! ! ! ”

“Therefore, we must ensure that Rhys cannot enter Lionheart City, this is the only way to solve our biggest problem at hand! ! ! ”

“Although he is likely to refuse the Lionheart royal family's invitation because we belong to the same camp, there is still a greater possibility that he will attend in person. You must come up with a solution to ensure that he will not appear in Lionheart City in the next three years or longer! ! ”

“One more thing, regarding the Lionheart King's health, forcibly staying in this world against the laws of nature, and using magic to prolong life is a great blasphemy against my Lord and against life, and this kind of behavior must be corrected! ! ! ”

“But it is not easy to persuade Lord Rhys. If he insists on coming to attend the ceremony, can we use force?”

“You are courting death! Do you want to start a church war? ? ”

“Then what should we do?”

“That's your problem! ! ”

“Understood… …”

“Yes… …”

Perhaps because the pressure brought about by the unsuccessful struggle during this period was too great, Lord Zachariah's tone and attitude were very unfriendly, and thunder flashed from time to time on his gloomy cheeks.

It was difficult to come up with a way to break the situation in a short period of time after the royal family's decade of planning. If they had not noticed the royal family's plan and the church had secretly used secret techniques to damage part of King Dazel's life force, then if they gave the other party another ten years, even without the existence of the War Church, the Lionheart royal family would be able to contend with the Suffering Church on its own.

Divine power has been separated from the secular world for too long. Although most of their believers come from the bottom of the people, more than half of the manor lords, squires, knights, and other middle and lower-level nobles who control the public opinion at the bottom have broken away from the influence and control of the Suffering Church and have been won over by the royal family.

After all, in addition to the Suffering Church, the nominally state religion of the Lionheart Kingdom, there are also a dozen other churches preaching here. The middle and lower-level nobles who have broken away from the Suffering Church can also seek the help of other church priests and officials during conferment, as long as they can contribute a considerable sacrifice, or simply embrace that faith.

If this struggle fails, then perhaps a cleansing of the Lionheart Kingdom's high-level officials should be launched! !

Lord Zachariah, who had already begun to make the worst plans, could not help but imagine with malice in his heart.