Chapter 408: Chapter 390 Defending His Life
When Harbin desperately arrived at Joan of Arc Castle, it was already dusk.
Although it was not yet night, the torches on the newly built low walls of the East Castle were all lit. The Defensive Army hurried about, their boots striking the cobblestones with crisp yet urgent sounds.
The merchants along the avenue packed up their stalls, rolling the last few items into worn cloth bags, hurrying home under the pressure of the Night Watchers.
Harbin could see that representatives and guild leaders, many notable figures from various districts of Joan of Arc Castle, were out on the streets.
They moved quickly, escorted collectively by the Night Watchers, heading in the direction of the Holy Arrival Hall.
"What’s going on?" Harbin encountered a representative from Colton District, grabbed his arm, and asked.
The representative, upon seeing him, was surprised instead: "Aren’t you supposed to be in the Holy Casting Department? You should have been here first!"
"I was on official duty in Gray Furnace Town and got held up by something," Harbin said, his short legs moving quickly as he followed the representative walking ahead.
The representative glanced at the brightly lit Holy Arrival Hall, scratched his head, and said, "His Holiness the Pope returned to Joan of Arc Castle this afternoon, bringing only dozens of cavalry guards. It’s certainly a big event, though I don’t know what exactly happened."
"So where are you all going?"
"The Pope convened a Believers’ Assembly as soon as he returned. We’re all going to the meeting."
Pope Horn, the Supreme Commander of the army, suddenly appeared in Joan of Arc Castle, leaving more than six thousand troops at the Black Mountain Castle frontline. This was no ordinary occurrence.
Could it be that the Ibe Knights have counterattacked?
Or has something happened in Dog Fox Village, and has the Church attacked?
The peaceful scene Harbin had just witnessed in the fields was instantly overshadowed in his heart.
If it weren’t something particularly urgent, how could the great and noble Pope Horn return with such a small escort?
Pushing down his uneasy thoughts, Harbin walked past the Lion-bodied Hogo Statue and stepped onto the marble steps.
The four-petal glass windows reflected the dim glow of the setting sun and the flickering torchlight on the ground.
In the ground floor hall, hundreds of seats and benches were arranged, with various people present, dressed in burlap robes as well as silk tunics and linen shirts.
On the high platform on the second floor of the hall, a massive solar cog triangular flag hung like a waterfall beneath the platform.
No matter their status, they all sat equally on the benches, anxiously awaiting Horn’s speech.
Not only did representatives from Joan of Arc Castle come, but even the town mayors from three administrative towns personally attended or sent representatives.
Harbin, having to archive the artisan list, arrived slightly slower than others but just in time for the most crucial part.
"...The Ibe Knights have surrendered to the great Holy Father, offering their loyalty to our Savior Pope Country!" Standing on the high platform draped with gold-thread carpets, Horn solemnly gazed at the crowd below.
Before the cheers among the crowd subsided, with the Natural Priest’s help, Horn’s voice quickly reached everyone’s ears.
"But I must tell you two pieces of bad news: First, the nobles of the Church Faction in Kasha County have united to attack the important city of Xiaochi belonging to the Juanist Faction.
Second, Rapids City suffered severe casualties due to a fire and is now facing a fierce assault by the Church army, potentially it won’t hold out for long."
The initial cheers stopped abruptly, turning into a succession of gasps.
They realized the urgency of the news, yet did not understand the implication of Horn announcing this now.
The representatives either whispered among themselves or suddenly raised their heads to observe Horn’s expression.
Horn said nothing further, instead giving them time to digest the information.
"I must inform you all." Once the noise gradually quieted, Horn took a deep breath, and unlike his usual flippant manner, solemnly and slowly said, "We must save Rapids City and Xiaochi City."
"Save Xiaochi City?" Many faces showed surprised expressions.
While aiding Rapids City was understandable, the decision to save Xiaochi City led to whispers among the representatives and government officials present.
"Why do we need to aid Xiaochi City?" Horn’s stern voice echoed under the dome of the Saint Master Demon Slaying Map, "First, Xiaochi City is our trade ally, providing us with food aid. Xiaochi City belongs to the Juanist Faction believers, who are also our brethren of the same faith.
From a moral standpoint, we must aid Xiaochi City.
Second, if Xiaochi City is overrun, the Noble Alliance Army may advance through the King’s Path to attack our Jinhe Town.
Now that the Ibe Knights have surrendered but there is still internal discord, if they attack, we may face being encircled by them and the Dog Fox Village Church army.
From a military standpoint, we must aid Xiaochi City.
Third, Dog Fox Village is heavily fortified with solid castles, and by the time we breach Dog Fox Village, Rapids City might have already experienced massacres three times over.
From a political standpoint, we must first aid Xiaochi City."
"But what does this have to do with us?" A city representative couldn’t help raising a hand to ask.
"Exactly, the Ibe Knights actively attacked us, so we retaliated," someone shouted from below.
"Rapid City has some connection with us, I agree. But the Noble Alliance Army besieging Xiaochi City is not our enemy, so is it necessary to provoke them?"
"Yes, indeed..."
"Hey, maybe we can discuss with them to lend us a path."
"If you ask me..."
"Quiet, quiet——" Seeing the scene gradually becoming noisy, Duvalon led the Night Watchers and Defensive Army in a united roar, even firing warning shots, finally suppressing the noise.
Horn, stepping on soft carpet, gazed over the stage below, feeling a deep sense of helplessness.
Among these representatives of public opinion and mid-level members of Pope Country, most have only the perspective of amoebas.
The farmer representatives dozed off with their heads down, indifferent, idly rubbing their noses.
As for the citizen representatives, they were active, but their enthusiasm was in the direction of heading south to seize more church and real estate from Jinhe Town and Ibe Village.
They hardly realized how urgent this war was, as long as their own lives were fine, what did it matter if others lived in darkness?
There was no way around it; to ensure military combat effectiveness, anyone with any beliefs or ideals had been thrown into the Salvation Army by Horn.
Most of those present are purely living day to day with extremely low concern and participation in politics, even less than those with personal grievances from Xiaochi City.
"I might as well ask this question, if the Church army comes in, what will happen?" Horn changed his approach, almost sarcastically asking, "What about the ’Labor Law’ and the ’Escape Slave Law’?"
The farmers who were previously unconcerned suddenly lifted their heads, cold sweat quickly sliding down their foreheads.
It goes without saying, the simplest aspect is that the ’Labor Law’ and ’Escape Slave Law’ would be fully restored, and the distributed farmland would be taken back, with farmers once again confined to the land.
Not to mention the laborers, who would once again live the miserable life of refugees.
If they hadn’t experienced this freedom and prosperous life now, the past wasn’t unbearable.
But now they’re like Eve and Adam who’ve tasted the fruit of wisdom, unable to return to the past.
Many farmer and labor representatives started trembling, discovering for the first time that having left the Fire Prison was realizing they had lived in it before.
"What about those church properties and noble estates? What becomes of them?" In the silence, not waiting for the farmer representatives to fully understand, Horn asked again.
"Dang——" After a few seconds of silence, the staff in the hand of one citizen fell to the ground, their faces turning pale.
Those church properties, at least half have fallen into the hands of various citizens, armed farmers, and artisans.
After all, only they have the money to buy Holy War Bonds, they have the desire and ability to purchase these church properties.
If the Church returned, their assets and real estate would inevitably be forcibly reclaimed.
These assets have just been acquired, they haven’t even had time to earn back their principal, so most citizens and artisans present would go bankrupt.
They seemed to already envision guards knocking door to door, extorting and threatening them to withdraw from workshops or properties.
Whispers and cries of swallowing broke out in small groups of citizens and artisans, echoing intermittently.
Those who could be happy about the Church’s return mostly were hung at Victory Square early in the year.
The remaining ones now realized that in the past six months, the entire Kush Territory, top to bottom, has been firmly tied to the Salvation Army and Pope Country’s fate.
The fall of Pope Country would surely be their downfall; even if they wanted to untie themselves, it’s too late now.
"We are like drowning people who’ve just emerged a bit from the water, breathing a gasp of air through our noses." Horn pointed towards Feiliu Castle, "We are clearly doing the right thing, but why is the Thousand River Valley Church so suppressive?
If I were Pope, these things wouldn’t happen, I would make Prince Kongdai retreat, let the Thousand River Valley people live freely and equally!"
"Previously, I petitioned the Pope, asking him to make me Pope, yet it was forbidden, why?" Pointing to the sky overhead, Horn shouted angrily, "The Papacy was promised to me by my mother herself, the Old Pope is dead, why can’t I ascend the throne in Holy Seat City?
You are all innocent believers, why does Prince Kongdai, why does Banifus oppress us so?"
"There are demons within the Church, far more than we imagined!"
"One demon’s name is clear, that is Prince Kongdai——Charles!"
Some representatives of the Defensive Army immediately followed, shouting loudly.
Indeed, they’re the righteous side, why would the Church suppress, why would Prince Kongdai wantonly slaughter them?
How is this a holy Church? It’s clearly an evil demon!
For the sake of the fields at home, for just acquired assets and properties, even if they’re not demons, they’re demons!
After realizing this, the situation on the ground quickly changed, farmers gritted their teeth angrily cursing Prince Kongdai, while citizens loudly clamored.
"Then what can we do? What should we do?" Horn seemed to roar, "Tell me! What can we do?"
"Down with injustice, slay injustice!"
"Expel demons! Judge demons!"
"Expel demons! Judge demons!"
The originally chaotic shouting, led by the Defensive Army, gradually turned into a neat "Expel demons! Judge demons!".
The raised fists were like waves of the sea, the flames flickering amidst the shouts and the wind raised by swinging fists.
Horn knew they weren’t fighting for fellow believers, the representatives of public opinion and officials, stripped of higher enthusiasm, were merely fighting to protect their own lives.
But this was enough; Horn needed them to maintain the normal operation of Pope Country and resist a potential attack from Dog Fox Village in his absence.
As long as the family wasn’t robbed, Horn’s rescue mission would be free of worries.
"I announce——" Amidst this tidy chanting, Horn raised his right hand high, roaring fervently, "A grand judgment holy war against Xiaochi City and Lower Reif County!"