Chapter 80: The Threat from Afar

“Are there no requirements or limits regarding Divine Arts? So, you are focusing on their identity as Clergy of the Lord of Justice,” High Priest Virginia said. No wonder he is called a cunning old fox; he immediately understood the other party’s true intention from George’s just-spoken words.

Since the other party had spoken so clearly, George pretended to be ignorant to avoid being looked down upon: “That’s right. Only the Clergy of the Lord of Justice participating can minimize the chances of fraud.”

“And if problems arise, discovering who has lost Divine Grace will tell us exactly where the mistake happened, right?” As he spoke, High Priest Virginia’s eyes sparkled with sharpness, and he looked straight at George without any hesitation.

‘He is truly wise for his age; he even figured this out.’ Although George felt a bit creeped out by High Priest Virginia’s gaze, he would never admit this: “Heh! Heh! Heh! You reminded me. There is actually such a method; I really hadn’t thought of it before.”

“You don’t need to overthink it. If they cannot even pass such a test, how will they fight against Evil forces in the future? Our Temple is not an Ivory Tower for Mages to hide in for a lifetime. Open the doors and step out. The believers of the Lord of Justice are all warriors, and your new legal system is the battlefield. Since it is a battle, sacrifices are unavoidable, but steel can only be formed after being tempered by water and fire and hammered with great force.” High Priest Virginia’s words were spoken with great strength and conviction.

Although he was just sitting calmly in his seat without clenching his fists or roaring on the podium, at this moment, the feeling he gave George was like a Red Guard leader during the Cultural Revolution.

This sharp contrast gave people a new and strange feeling. At first glance, it might seem a bit like a scheming politician. However, his momentum was far beyond what a normal politician could match. Moreover, George, who had learned about High Priest Virginia’s past experiences from elsewhere, would not think that this fearless warrior, who had dedicated over forty years to the Church of the Lord of Justice, faced danger multiple times, and was on the brink of death, would so quickly turn into a hypocritical politician. Most importantly, even if he could fool others, he could never fool the Deity behind him; this real Divine Grace explained everything.

Actually, to some extent, it could also be said that George was just seeing rare things and getting surprised. After all, before he transmigrated, George was just a relatively ordinary person. In short, his circle of contacts was not very wide. Plus, those who cultivate the Dao value their lives far more than ordinary people, so they would not wander around the unstable Northern Lands without reason. If so, there was absolutely no chance to meet the Holy Warriors of the Pig Worshiping Sect. The feeling High Priest Virginia just gave was very similar to those suicide bombers of the Pig Worshiping Sect—absolutely fanatical religious followers.

Just when George was lost in his wild thoughts with his mind racing, High Priest Virginia changed his expression as quickly as a Sichuan Opera face-changer: “I hope that after such a trial, some of the newcomers will truly clear the fog in their hearts and find the correct path for their future. When we older generation retire, may they have the ability to take over the burdens we carry.”

George was first startled by High Priest Virginia’s extremely fast change in demeanor. You know, changes in emotion are relatively simple, but such a quick switch of the entire aura is rare. However, he still keenly noticed a hint of worry and helplessness in High Priest Virginia’s previous words: “With your words, I feel much more relieved. However, it seems from your tone that the situation of the Church of the Lord of Justice is not very good.”

“I suppose you should know. It has been a long time since the last major conflict, and those enemies of our Church have recovered some of their strength. I heard that those people in Lucia are no longer satisfied with underground activities. I think the coming days might not be so peaceful.” High Priest Virginia first explained the reasons why the Temple might encounter trouble to George, and then changed the topic to a serious matter regarding cooperation: “But I must also say the unpleasant words first. If the laws established within your Territory conflict widely with the Dogma of my Lord, such cooperation will be hard to continue.”

However, George seemed to ignore High Priest Virginia’s following words and directly asked back: “Is it the Evil God Church operating in the Kingdom of Lucia?”

“Not necessarily all Evil Gods! There are also Demon believers and a small number of ambitious ones. In short, they hold rallies and parades there every day, along with various mass activities under the guise of patriotism. Over time, even the fields might be abandoned. This is not like craftsmen in workshops; if agricultural matters miss the season, one can only wait for next year. If it’s just one year, it’s fine, but if they continue like this for a few years, who knows what chaos will happen!” Seeing that George did not answer his following words, High Priest Virginia felt this was normal. For such a critical and sensitive issue, giving a hasty answer would be a sign of immaturity like a green kid. Unknowingly, he had ignored George’s age and treated him as a cunning character like himself. Not only was he explaining the matter George just asked about, but he was also indirectly slandering his Church’s enemies.

Regarding High Priest Virginia’s previous appearance, George, as a partner, felt it necessary to remind him of the possible severity: “It must be because the rulers have a use for them. Otherwise, activities like this would have been suppressed by the local Lords and officials long ago. The reason they are so active now is likely that they have the instruction or at least the tacit approval of the high-ranking officials of the Kingdom of Lucia.”

“Perhaps! But based on the intelligence network our Temple has in the Kingdom of Lucia, our Church still has enough buffer time to prepare.” Hearing George’s words, High Priest Virginia was immediately stunned. Of course, his following answer was more of an excuse to stabilize George than self-comfort.

“Then, if there is relevant intelligence about those organizations, can you also provide us with a copy?” As soon as he heard that the Temple of the Lord of Justice had its own intelligence network in the Kingdom of Lucia, George began to pay attention to that aspect. After all, considering all the things that happened during this period, the Kingdom of Lucia was a potential enemy of the Duchy of Nohan. And George’s life and property were mostly tied to this small boat called the Duchy of Nohan. In order to add some chips to the scale of war in the future, George would definitely try every means to seize visible opportunities.

High Priest Virginia thought George was worried about possible threats from Cultists, so he smiled and said: “Are you worried that they might cause harm to Bolerum Territory? If such a situation really occurs, our Church will conduct sniper attacks on them. For the current Duchy of Nohan, they are all complete outsiders. With such an opportunity, we must make sure they come but never return.”

Seeing the gnashing-teeth expression High Priest Virginia showed at the end, George felt it was clearly not faked. It seemed that the conflict between the two sides was not much less than a national or family grudge. Unfortunately, the Church rarely participates directly in secular wars, otherwise, George would have been ready to think about this aspect.

‘I want this intelligence not just for cooperation safety. This system of intelligence is also a reference for the movements of the Kingdom of Lucia. I don’t believe the Kingdom of Lucia’s plans do not involve these guys. It is not easy to connect with the Earth Spirit Deity without these Evil God Churches.’ Having confirmed his thoughts, George immediately put them into practice. He thought of reasons and organized his words: “I think there are so many things inside the Church, and you also have to be responsible for our security matters, so you might be too busy! Of course, I am not worried that the Temple is not serious about this, but it is more reassuring to know some things myself. Moreover, if our people accidentally discover something the Temple did not notice, we can also notify you.”

George’s performance just now was indeed like that of a Lord concerned about his own and his Territory’s safety. High Priest Virginia did not suspect him too much. Out of the reason of friendly cooperation, he agreed to this request: “Since you insist, if there is any news on this in the future, we will send you a copy.”

“Thank you very much. This makes me feel much more at ease.” Getting a definite answer, George immediately showed a much more relaxed expression.

Seeing George go off-topic again, High Priest Virginia immediately pulled him back on track: “Speaking of which, finding three Clergy proficient in law is easy. By the end of this year, our Temple might have a few newcomers who pass the assessment and are promoted from Servants to Priests. But Clergy proficient in investigation and search are not so easy to find; at least we cannot spare anyone from our Diocese for now. It looks like we will have to borrow from other Dioceses.”

Clergy proficient in investigation and search are the foundation for future criminal investigation in Bolerum Territory and the basis for establishing self-training in the future. This aspect cannot afford any loss. George ran his hand through his hair and asked with some worry: “Oh! How long will that take approximately?”

High Priest Virginia thought for a moment and gave a relatively conservative estimate: “It will take at least half a year for the personnel to arrive here.”

George thought about it and felt that this situation would not have too much impact on his plan, so he truly felt much more at ease. At the same time, he brought out his other trump card: “There is not much problem with this aspect. The preliminary matters regarding legal provisions do not yet require the personnel responsible for specific implementation after they are enacted; in terms of time, it is completely enough. Regarding the formulation of legal provisions, I hope your Church also sends people to participate. After all, having professionals will make things much smoother.”

If the legal knowledge from George’s world before transmigration was the favorite of the Lord of Justice himself, then participating in the revision of specific legal provisions was the irresistible bait that the Church’s Clergy could not give up. Now that one chip has lost its effect, releasing another chip to bring the already unbalanced scale back to equilibrium is necessary.

Previously, George had never given any definite answer to the Church of the Lord of Justice regarding legislative matters. This was to gain the initiative in subsequent negotiations and gain greater benefits. However, the situation has changed, and George has to bring it out early as a substitute for the previous trump card. Here, George must sincerely thank that Deacon, Priest Gavin. If it were not for his impatience, George might not have realized how important participating in the revision of laws is to the Clergy of the Lord of Justice.

“Then there is no problem. Half a year is enough for the best preparation and publicity. By then, with all the personnel ready and starting on the right track, it won’t seem abrupt, and it won’t be effective for those guys to spread rumors either. And what did you say? Sending Church personnel to participate in the formulation of legal provisions? Could you say it again? I might be too old and my ears don’t hear clearly.” As he spoke, High Priest Virginia even began to doubt his own ears, because George’s previous words were like a heavy bomb to him. In his career, very few Lords were willing to cooperate with the Temple in formulating laws. Even the few who did were only as consultants and could not participate in the whole process directly. And a Lord who proactively proposed cooperation in this aspect is rare in the entire history of the Church.

Seeing that his approach had a relatively satisfactory effect, George did not mind repeating his words: “Then I will say it again! Regarding the formulation of legal provisions, I hope the Church of the Lord of Justice also sends people to participate.”

High Priest Virginia looked at George with a suspicious eye and asked in an unbelievable tone: “Are you sure you have thought it through?”

“I heard from Priest Gavin before that participating in the establishment and perfection of new legal provisions is one of the best ways to understand the Dogma of the Lord of Justice. And you just mentioned that the laws formulated within the Territory not conflicting widely with the Dogma of the Lord of Justice is the foundation of whether this cooperation can proceed.” When answering, George did not forget to give Priest Gavin a good word, making it seem that he was also an important factor in causing him to make such a decision. At the same time, he put on a posture of “the goods are here, please make your offer”: “So, letting Church personnel participate in the construction of the law itself is the quickest and most effective method. Although most Lords think that matters of this aspect cannot be entrusted to others, let this be the sincerity we in Bolerum Territory pay for this cooperation.”