King-Chapter 1081 - 156, Establishing a New Clergy_2

As soon as the situation in the Orc Empire stabilized, smoke from the fires of war was bound to rise in the Near East.

Without the need to deploy large armies for a decisive battle, repeated raids and sabotage could wear many Lords down.

Cities could protect the safety of domain people, but they could not shield the farmlands, pastures, bridges, reservoirs outside the walls...

Such harassment could be said to be almost endless. Even if defensive construction was completed, the Near East region would still be under threat from the Orcs.

There are two ways to cope with this: either cripple the Orc Empire until they dare not come causing trouble, or follow the model of the Northern provinces and build fortresses everywhere, making the city defenses as complex as a maze.

The intertwining lines of defense then become natural barriers, block a few crucial roads, and it becomes an instant encirclement.

Clearly, the two most effective measures are not so easy to accomplish.

If it were possible to cripple the Orc Empire, the Kingdom wouldn’t have to build the Near East Front, Hudson would have led the army galloping across the prairies long ago.

Learning the Northern pattern is even harder, their dense fortresses took the Kingdom over three hundred years to construct progressively.

"Don’t worry, the danger is mainly towards those below, in over three hundred years of the Kingdom’s history, only seven Commanders in Chief have fallen in battle, I’m not that unlucky!"

Hudson comforted.

The outside world only sees his glory, but nobody cares about the abyss behind the glory. Only the closest relations would advise him to be cautious.

Take one step back, and the sky’s the limit, but that’s for the common folk. In just a few short years, Hudson climbed from being a Noble Child to his current position, and he simply had no way back.

If the Near East battlefield collapses, the whole Northern Continent might fall into the hands of the Alien Coalition, let alone the Mountain Domain.

The best choice left for Hudson is to retreat with the remaining forces to the sea and seek temporary refuge on an island.

...

The Kingdom of Alpha was busy with the Near East strategy and didn’t have the leisure to provoke the Church, yet it still couldn’t stop the Franks’ advance.

On October 10th of the year 9993 of the Sacred Calendar, the Frank Church declared that the Clergy was controlled by Heresy and no longer recognized its legitimacy, while inviting representatives from the churches of various countries to Lutesya to discuss a joint response.

"Establishing an alternative Clergy" was openly put on the table for the first time.

In matters of religious faith, once branded with the label of "Heresy," there’s no turning back.

Since the Clergy is controlled by Heresy, people naturally need to unite and take decisive action to purge the "Heresy," to return cleanliness to the Holy Mountain!

When the trumpet of battle sounded, it meant that there was no more room for reconciliation between the two sides, and even Hudson in the far North felt a chill.

The Franks were not only going against the Church themselves but also pulling everyone together to oppose the Church.

Whether the two sides will end up fighting became the most pressing issue on the Continent. Before the countries could take sides publicly, various undercurrents were already surging.

From the perspective of the Human Race, Hudson naturally did not wish for a civil war to erupt at this moment. Once the two top forces go to war, the power of the Human Race to suppress the Alien Coalition ceases to exist.

Without the pressure from the Human Alliance, the Different Races wouldn’t stay as quiet as now. Even if the war doesn’t restart immediately, border frictions are inevitable.

The situation in the Northern Continent was already very bad, and if more trouble were to arise, life would become even harder.

Worrying was useless, Hudson had no power to influence the decisions of these two major forces. It wasn’t his turn to worry about taking sides.

The Kingdom of Alpha has long been a frontrunner in the Anti-church camp. Now without having to do anything, they were already classified as part of the "Anti-church camp."

It was impossible to switch sides.

Even if the Kingdom declared neutrality, it’s likely the Church would still see this as a conspiracy, trying to make a big move at the critical moment.

Even if they directly expressed support for the Church, it’s likely the higher-ups within the Church would interpret this as: "This is a spy who has infiltrated us!"

Compared to the other Human nations who were still indecisive, the Kingdom of Alpha, not having to choose sides, became a mere spectator.

Interfering, the Kingdom lacked the strength. To point fingers would only bring shame upon themselves; in the civil war, they could not reach either of the two camps. novelbuddy-cσ๓

Unable to meddle, they might as well continue their hard work.

Atop the Holy Mountain, Shelter VII faced the crowd with a grim expression. Rumors were flying outside that he, the Pope impersonated by Evil Spirits, had fainted on the spot upon his identity being revealed.

Clearly, this was all rumor. As a Sanctuary Powerhouse, how could he lack even that bit of psychological resilience?

But being angry was inevitable. The Dawn Sect had been in existence for so many years, yet this was the first time someone had declared them illegal, with the excuse of "Demonic possession."

Simply browsing through the history of the Continent shows that the Church’s favorite accusation was "Demonic possession," as a pretext to send people to the stake.

The same accusation had now fallen upon their own heads, which was undeniably ironic.

"Why aren’t any of you speaking now? Those heretics have already openly raised their banners of revolt, and if we delay further, we might truly become Heretics!"

Shelter VII scolded furiously.

He knew that the Clergy was unpopular on the Continent, but he had never imagined things would deteriorate to such an extent.

"Demonic possession" was basically rubbing the Church’s face in the dirt. If not dealt with promptly, the Clergy’s last vestige of authority on the Continent might well vanish.

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