Arrangements (Part 1)

In Snow Bear Territory, in the small village occupied by Fran, Aila, dressed in a white robe, walked towards a house made of thatch and mudstone.

Brian was sitting on a small chair, waiting for Aila to arrive.

He looked at Aila, who was wearing the only white robe in the small village.

There was no other way; this white robe could only be worn by the recipient. If anyone else wore it, including him, it would incite public outrage.

Because they all felt they were not worthy to wear the only white robe.

Aila, who was saved by God's Proxy, is a suitable candidate. Believers can tell themselves that it is because Aila was saved by Deity and is a saved person that she can wear this white robe.

Aila closed the door, maintaining a composed demeanor—as required by the believers. She said to Brian:

"Uncle Brian, God's Proxy has sent a new message. She wants us to leave this village and go to Antir Region, in the south of the Northern Territory."

"That Ms. Anna recommended you to the Proxy, saying you have some abilities."

Brian smiled and slowly answered Aila.

"Aila... I'll agree to this. After all, unlike you, I can't go to the Snow Bear Territory to preach. I'm not a Profession yet."

Aila's expression remained calm. She placed her hands on her chest, interlocking her fingers, and slowly said:

"Uncle Brian, as long as you complete the Deity's task, the Deity will naturally grant you what you desire. You don't need to worry..."

Brian's expression remained unchanged; Aila's words had no effect on him, because he knew that the reason he hadn't had the opportunity to preach was because he had arrived too late.

Unlike other believers who rushed over immediately upon hearing the news of the church's reopening, he wanted to wait a while and see what this Deity looked like.

Later, he realized that his caution had caused him to miss an opportunity—a chance to become Profession, which was extremely valuable on the mainland.

It is difficult for an ordinary person to even become an apprentice-level Profession, because there is simply no way to do it.

The closest to them were the Knight Master and Adventurer.

But the Knight Master requires you to have noble blood, or be lucky enough to gain the Knight Master's favor.

Alternatively, you could take out your life savings and buy a method from an Adventurer to become Profession, but there's also the possibility that the Adventurer will cheat you and leave you with nothing.

In general, it is extremely difficult for an ordinary person to become Profession.

Even within the Alliance's territory, those with innate Mental Power Talent a higher probability of becoming Profession if they are taken to an apprenticeship training program.

When Brian began preaching in Fran, he was quite afraid, fearing that it was a cult as some Adventurer called it.

As far as he knew, there were many such cults on this continent, where a Profession was simply pretending to be a cult leader, reaping the wealth of his followers. Becoming a follower of such a cult would grant you no power whatsoever.

At that time, he locked himself in his house all day, already thinking about what he should say when someone started to deal with this cult.

He knew Anna's strength was simply outrageous; even if the entire village attacked her together, they might not be a match for her.

In this matter, he could only trust the lord or a passing, enthusiastic Adventurer; otherwise, he had no other option but to prolong his life by hiding inside the house.

But after a few days, Brian sensed a Radiance power emanating from Aila, and he knew he was wrong.

This Deity seemed capable of truly bestowing power, and at that moment, Brian's resolve wavered.

He then realized the magnitude of the opportunity he had missed, but it was too late to undo it.

While other believers were still observing, some had already turned to Deity.

If later believers are allowed to gain Profession status through missionary work, how can we be worthy of the original followers?

So even though Brian joined the Sect immediately after seeing Aila's power, unfortunately, he had no chance.

Even among the first believers to go to church, not all of them got the chance to become Profession; it was never his turn.

After he saw that the snow around the church had melted, he realized that this Sect might have a great influence in the Northern Territory in the future.

However, he no longer had any opportunity to do anything. He could only act like an ordinary believer, going to church on a certain day, reciting scriptures, and then returning to his house to wait for the Sect's work assignments.

Now, the Sect has effectively taken control of the village, and residents from two other villages are even moving in.

Brian remained calm. He knew he was one of the few smart people in the village, and that if he seized an opportunity, he too could become a Profession.

He had no choice but to seize this opportunity. He didn't believe there was Northern Lands Society in the Northern Territory; he thought it was a rumor. If he really believed it, he would have set off long ago and wouldn't be here fighting wits with the lord's affairs officer.

In his worldview, aside from the Adventurer who might appear anywhere, the most powerful people are those on the lords' side.

Now, as Aila displays the abilities of Profession —not only is her strength increased, but her reactions are also much faster— Brian knows that she is already a Profession.

In this situation, Brian had to consider whether this Sect, which believed in Deity, would directly replace the lord and become their ruler.

Now, the opportunity he wanted has finally arrived. In any case, as long as he can become Profession, it will boost his confidence.

Brian spread his hands and then asked:

"May I ask the Deity what they want me to do?"

He knew his chances of being chosen to preach were slim, because there were many others waiting in line, and it wasn't his turn yet.

And it was Ms. Anna who recommended him, though he didn't know why Anna would recommend him.

"Uncle Brian, our Sect needs someone to keep track of finances and someone to arrange work for the believers. Ms. Anna thinks you are very suitable."

Aila took out a stack of papers and a special the Alliance- issue ink pen, and slowly said:

"Now you need to go out and collect information on those believers, compile this information according to the requirements above, and complete it within three days."

Fran's current task is to gather information on the followers of the Lord of Radiance. She needs to decide who will stay and who will follow her to the Antir Region as her initial core group.

However, Fran clearly encountered a problem that lords often face: when you want to know the population of your territory, you can hardly find any literate people...

Coincidentally, Anna knew that Brian was literate; otherwise, he would have had a hard time confronting the previous clerk.

Brian took the stack of documents and saw the requirements for data collection.

"Name, gender, age, physical condition, literacy level..."

This puzzled Brian, so he checked it again carefully and confirmed that there was nothing on it that required him to ascertain the believers' faith.

This puzzled him, because in his understanding, the faith status of these believers was the most important thing to pay attention to, so why wasn't it listed here?

In the Antir Region, in the Hundred Flower Territory, Finley, the knight who once received Fran's help, has become the lord of the Hundred Flower Territory, but has not yet received official recognition.

He was now sitting in the lord's castle, in a hall used for receiving guests, his chair slightly elevated above the ground.

He now rested his hand on the armrest of the chair, somewhat troubled by his current situation.

After a lord of one country invades another, he will send his knights to occupy that territory.

Many knights crave such an opportunity, as it represents a chance for their families to rise in social class.

As long as one remains a knight under a lord, one will only ever be a knight, unlike a lord who possesses tax revenue and can manage other knights.

However, such opportunities also come with risks. Generally speaking, a normal knight, as long as he doesn't make a blunder, can gain the recognition of the territory and become the lord of this place within two to three years.

If there are additional material aids such as Territory Token, this time can be shortened, but it will still take at least two or three months.

It is clear that Finley is still a long way from becoming a true lord; he has only been the lord appointed by Duke Theodore for no more than four months.

As a knight who was not recognized by the territory, he would become a weak point for the enemy to attack in battle.

Now, bad news has arrived in Antir's Royal Capital: the Antir royal family seems to be colluding with the Kingdom of Lorinvik in the southwest, and the latter is sending troops northward toward Antir.

Just now, a royal messenger delivered a letter here. Even without Finley opening it, he could tell what was written on it.

Duke Theodore spent a fortune, nearly a thousand Gold Coin, to hire the Blood Wolf Knights, but they all vanished without a trace. Only the knights' horses were found scattered and fled to various regions of Antir.

This severely weakened Duke Theodore's power, and at this critical moment, the Kahn Kingdom withdrew its spies...

It seemed that overnight, Duke Theodore was waning and he was in dire straits.

Furthermore, Duke Theodore had no way out; he could only choose to go down a dark path, for the Prince of Antir would not let him go.

However, that was Duke Theodore's business. Those of them, as his subordinates, actually had some room to maneuver, especially since he had surrendered to the Duke before...

He was now in a dilemma: should he side with Duke Theodore or switch sides? If he chose the wrong side, all his efforts would be in vain. He had not yet become a lord and did not possess irreplaceable qualities.

Just then, one of his men brought in a letter, signed by his friend, Elan.

This made him somewhat hopeful.