As the only person in the Dawn Territory who has used the "divine power" built by faith, Sera describes it as an alternative kind of magic. The difference is that its source comes from the "god" itself, not the world.
No one knew what kind of effects it could have, but David slightly expanded their horizons.
"Sierra, what I said is true... It's so amazing. The heart that the dagger was supposed to pierce was resolved by invisible power. I seemed to see the shadow of silver-white leaves filling the air...
But the believers said they couldn't see the scene I described, and thought I was overly frightened and had hallucinations." David rambled, "Others don't believe it, but you should believe me, you are God's choice!"
Although the Theocracy has a new Chosen One, and Serra has left the Theocracy for three years, David still cannot change his tune, which makes Serra couldn't help but wonder if he usually calls the current Chosen One by the wrong name.
If his name is like this, he, the Archbishop of the Enforcement Tribunal, is too lacking in majesty.
On the other side of the communication statue, David kept groping for his chest with his hands. He was still a little shaken as he recalled the attack that happened a day ago.
The riots that spread in the south of the Theocracy became more and more intense, and the city-states along the two important hubs of Fagutar and Port Demorris were once lost. The development of the situation far exceeded the expectations of everyone in the Glorious Institute.
The chaos completely pitted Theocracy believers and refugees against each other. The rights and wrongs of the tragedy in Luni Town that caused the riots no longer mattered. After the situation got out of control and involved more and more innocent people, confrontation was inevitable.
The angry radiant believers firmly rejected the offers of regional bishops, consuls, magistrates, and even prestigious old believers. They only wanted one thing - to expel those who disrespected the silver maple tree, the god of radiance.
, if Guanghuiyuan is not willing to take action, then they will do it themselves.
The Archbishop of the Tribunal who came with David and the nun Meili trained by Maojing had already noticed something fishy after reviewing the numerous conflicts that had occurred over the past month.
The way of thinking and behavior of Kouki-in is inherited from Laurent, and they deal with things peacefully and advocate not to conflict with others on the basis of religion.
After Laurent came to power and signed an agreement not to preach to outsiders, eighty years of nurturing made the people of the Theocracy extraordinarily lenient in doctrine and canon rules, and they were not keen on missionary work. They preferred to lead by example and influence the outside world.
People feel the peace under the rule of the religious state, and gradually choose to understand them, and then understand what they believe in.
Nowadays, half of the people in Guanghui Yard are children who grew up under the guidance of Laurent, and half are his right-hand assistants. Laurent's words and deeds made them choose relief and acceptance as soon as the refugee flow began.
During this process, the only person who had objections was the new pope named Antonio by Laurent himself.
During the relief discussion, Antonio raised the issue that the internal and external environment should be re-examined before deciding whether to provide relief. Although he did not explicitly object to everyone in the Guanghui Institute, he expressed an ambiguous attitude in his words - this matter
, should not be concerned.
No matter what, it is easy to get angry.
No matter, it goes against Laurent's teachings.
The turmoil in the south reminded Mellie and David of Antonio's hesitation in speaking, and they sighed helplessly. They suddenly realized that mixed beliefs entered an area with stable beliefs, and the religious conflicts that had been away from the Theocracy for decades would surely return.
The restrained Theocracy believers treated the refugees as before, sharing generously and silently supporting them. The residents around Fagutar and Demorris all had the experience of sharing their food reserves. They gave silently and did not serve for missionary purposes.
Just don’t forget the good things that the great sun that has set once brought.
Unfortunately, what they were rewarded for was not mutual understanding, but transgression and blasphemy.
The regional bishops have been reporting frictions between local refugees and some believers since the beginning of the riots half a year ago, but most of them focus on mediation, and most of the people of the Theocracy have peacefully accepted the results of the mediation - they are willing to understand the refugees
They have not yet understood the atmosphere, order, and rules of the Theocracy, and they ask themselves that not everyone can follow the Romans as quickly as they do.
But after spring came, some things changed.
Many refugees were unwilling to work as assigned by the consuls in exchange for the rationed food. They began to ask for formal citizenship as citizens of the Theocracy, and left the designated residential areas privately, reclaiming acres of land and building houses privately.
Faced with the eviction and demolition of the Sheriffs, they showed great aggression and began to unite. After the Halo missionaries' persuasion still failed, rumors spread that the Theocracy was abusing the refugees. Under pressure,
The city-state lords of Fagutar chose to give in.
David and Meili personally summoned the amiable old lord. The gray-haired man kowtowed silently, placing all the blame for the escalation of the riot on himself.
"At that moment... I remembered Lord Laurent's teachings, so I couldn't bear it..."
The old lord knocked on the floor tiles and his forehead was covered with blood. He witnessed with his own eyes the consequences of his compromise.
In the tragedy of Luni Town, the girl who was buried alive by the refugee pagans is believed to have had a grudge with the pagans during a fruit-tree picking conflict. Although the grudge was against her father, the pagans obviously did not care about it.
She was the first thing that came to mind when I was choosing a living sacrifice.
If he had not given in, but had gained a bad reputation, those refugees would have reclaimed the land arbitrarily and built houses at random, and they would not have invaded the area where the citizens of the Theocracy were normally registered, and they would not have been angered because of conflicts over resource acquisition.
The Theocracy had been accumulating anger for half a year, and the gunpowder that had been constantly stacked in the powder barrel finally ushered in a big enough spark. The believers who had been influenced by the Laurentian era no longer comforted themselves, "They are homeless."
, should give in" and no longer tell themselves "understand them better", even though they know that doing so seems to be personally blaspheming Pope Laurent, but...
The gods were blasphemed, the silver maple tree was insulted, and the believers who kept their peace and kept themselves in check were scolded and slandered. The father who gave in and gave in saw the body of his daughter who was buried alive. The villagers who allowed them to pick the fruit trees they planted became
Burnt corpses in the fire...
They can't bear it anymore!
The men who deal with sea monsters, monsters, and aliens on the other side of the sea all day long in Port Demorris fired the first shot. No one knew who put up the bounty posted on the Adventurer's Guild for hunting and sacrificing pagans. It was a gold coin.
, a spear, a piece of clothing, such a fragmentary reward, it is obvious that the rewarder took out everything he owned.
Just like lighting a cigarette in a warehouse full of kerosene, the raging anger reached its climax as the adventurers who came after hearing the news piled up the bounty on the bounty.
The adventurers no longer want any bullshit bounties, and they don't care whether the Sheriff will punish them afterwards, whether the gods are willing to forgive their atrocities, whether Pope Laurent's spirit in heaven will feel sad for this...
Blasphemy, die!
That night, the adventurers from Port de Maurice buried more than sixty pagans alive, and no one's body was intact before they were pushed into the pit.
A complete confrontation unfolded after this night. The refugees huddled together in panic, fearing the attack of the Glorious Cultists, and finally evolved into taking the initiative to attack...
Before David and Meili arrived, the situation had become so serious that most villages and towns outside the city-states of Fagutar and Demorris had been attacked.
David believed that someone was secretly inciting people's emotions and spiraling this conflict to an irreconcilable level. He believed that he should personally mediate as the Archbishop of the Glorious Academy to give the people a sense of security.
Meili approved of this plan, but it was too late to implement it.
When David was walking on the street, he saw a dirty child who was reaching out to ask for food. He felt pity and bought bread for him.
Facing the child's grateful embrace, he responded without any precaution, and then... the dagger sank into his broad robe.
David's entourage immediately held down the child who was pretending to be crazy, while David himself stared at his bleeding chest, inexplicably shocked.
The wound was not deep, but it looked scary. At that moment, David could clearly see the silver maple leaves floating in the sky, and he also felt the strength of the dagger that had penetrated his body fade away.
Everyone told him that it was an illusion, even Meili, so that when communicating with Sera, his tone was a little unconfident.
"I don't understand... He is just a child, only over ten years old. What kind of hatred can make him so fierce? At that moment, he was as ferocious as a beast. If my attendants hadn't subdued him, I think he would have fought tooth and nail.
Everything kills me."
"We gave them food, we gave them shelter...what more do they want?"
If possible, Serra really didn't want to hear the story of the manifestation of divine power in this way.
David fell into self-doubt, and so did Mellie, who was integrating the information.
One is an honest man and a loyal believer who is favored by the silver maple tree.
One is Mao Jing, an elite trained by Laurend.
Seeing this group of people who had been given attention by the Radiance Institute and allocated specific funds from the magic tide emergency reserve material library for rescue, biting the Theocracy so hard, they could not let go.
Maybe there are indeed people behind it who are adding fuel to the flames, but is there any solution to this knot?
Sera hesitated to speak, and in the end she could only sigh.
In the long history, chaos is the norm, and peace is the exception. During the long period of peace in the Theocracy over the past hundred years, the dams woven by countless sages and wise men have blocked the tide of chaos from invading the lights of thousands of families behind them.
But this wave is far better than before.
"Laurent never wants you to blindly apply his experience. You in the Guanghui Institute should make changes... And, David, I can only tell you that what you see is not false. One day, you will
Hear her voice."
"Just keep moving forward until that day comes."
"May the Silver Maple Tree and the God of Radiance protect you."