Chenla

The merchant ship sailed in fits and starts, wasting a great deal of time along the way. But after 61 days at sea, Ambrosius and his party finally reached their destination: Phnom Penh, the capital of Chenla.

The sailing ships of this era usually managed speeds of around 12 knots. The clipper ships that would appear before long would raise sailing speeds to a whole new level: 20 knots.

One knot was equivalent to 1.852 kilometers, so traveling at 12 knots for a day covered 533.37 kilometers.

The total distance from Venice to Phnom Penh Port was about 26,000 kilometers.

In Rauscher's eyes, leading heretics back to the true faith was a deed of immeasurable nobility.

For precisely that reason, Archbishop Rauscher had spared no effort in helping Ambrosius.

To ensure Ambrosius's safety and the success of his mission, he had also found a special religious group called the Combat Brotherhood.

When Ambrosius first learned that the Austrian Church had an organization like this, he found it rather strange.

But the moment he boarded the ship, he finally understood why these men were called the Combat Brotherhood.

The priests stood an average of over 1.85 meters tall. In an age when the average European man was 1.7 meters, a height of 1.85 meters was enough to make someone a legendary giant.

More astonishing still, every one of them carried a rifle on his back and had pistols, swords, or other melee weapons at his waist. Were it not for the Bibles bound at their waists with iron chains, it would have been hard to connect them with priests at all.

Every one of these giants had a fearsome face. Calling them priests seemed less apt than calling them executioners.

Two of them were a little shorter, but one was covered in scars, with extensive burns across his face. His voice was hoarse, like that of a demon from hell.

The other spoke like a devout believer, yet had the Bible tattooed on his face in Latin. From a distance, he looked like an Exorcist covered in talismans.

This priest was named Sart, and he was an Exorcist from the Diocese of Linz.

Ambrosius exclaimed with heartfelt admiration, "Father Sart, you could scare off the Devil with your looks alone, without the help of a single holy relic."

And so, a general, two officers, a diplomat who also served as an interpreter, seventeen adventurers, three missionaries, and fifty combat priests set out on the same journey.

Apart from the two adventurers who had tragically perished at sea, everyone else arrived safely in Chenla.

Phnom Penh, the capital of Chenla, was an inland river port situated in the delta between the Mekong River and the Tonle Sap River, with a direct route south to the South China Sea.

Although Ambrosius had been mentally prepared, Phnom Penh City was still far larger than he had imagined—almost twice the size of Florence, the capital of Tuscany.

The people here, however, seemed somewhat numb.

If their party had appeared in any city in Europe, Ambrosius had every reason to believe it would have drawn a crowd.

But the workers at this port seemed entirely indifferent to their arrival. They carried goods with vacant eyes, one after another, like a band of ghosts.

The Vietnamese official at the dock looked at Ambrosius and his party with disdain, as if he meant to give them a hard time.

Ambrosius hurriedly took out a string of zinc coins and handed it to the official, then addressed him in broken Vietnamese.

"Wishing you great fortune and a hundred years of life."

Zinc coins were also called White Lead Coins. In truth, they contained more zinc, and were the main currency in Vietnam at the time.

The Vietnamese official at the port took the string of coins, put it in his pocket, and waved them on.

But when the missionaries passed by, the official stopped them and said, "No preaching, or die."

The Vietnamese official made a gesture of killing them. The missionaries nodded to show they understood.

Before they had come to Phnom Penh, the French captain had repeatedly warned the Catholic priests that Emperor Minh Mang of Vietnam had banned preaching throughout the country. Any priest caught preaching without permission would be arrested and sent to Hue. Anyone who helped hide one would be beheaded on the spot.

But this was Chenla, so Vietnamese law was not enforced especially strictly.

Zacker, the diplomat traveling with them, gave the Vietnamese official another string of coins and asked where the Chenla officials were, since this was a Chenla port, after all.

After taking the money, the Vietnamese official pointed to an inconspicuous little hut nearby.

Once Ambrosius and his party had left, the junior Vietnamese official adjusted his conical hat and spat on the ground.

"A bunch of paupers. They're fit to do business only with Chenla people."

The Vietnamese of this era were extremely swollen with pride. They considered themselves the world's second-greatest power, with no rival apart from the Great Qing.

Ambrosius and his party entered the Chenla Foreign Affairs Office, where the Chenla officials watched them with curiosity.

Under Vietnamese rule, Chenla's government offices were little more than empty shells. It had been a long time since anyone had come knocking.

Kuan Kim-pan belonged to a Chenla aristocratic family and was a second-rank civil official, but under Vietnamese rule, he had almost no real authority.

Kuan Kim-pan was not the only one. The other Chenla officials were just as curious about why Ambrosius and his party had come.

Their group was simply too strange.

And why were all these foreign monks carrying weapons?

Their builds and faces made them look just like wrathful guardian kings in a Buddhist temple.

With the Vietnamese ruling Chenla and imposing Vietnamese law, any missionary caught preaching without permission would be arrested and executed on the spot, or sent to Hue for execution.

Could these people really not be afraid of death? Yet from the look of them, they did not seem to have come to preach.

In truth, the so-called Combat Brotherhood was simply a product of the fear that one might be next when others were struck down.

After the French Revolution and the Twelve Priests Incident, Catholic organizations in every country lived in constant fear, terrified they would suffer the same fate.

During the French Revolution, priests who refused to swear allegiance to the new French government had been rounded up and executed, while Church property was plundered with abandon.

And so, a self-defense organization made up of fanatics came into being. At first, its purpose was to protect Catholic property. But when these madmen gathered together, they soon broadened their ambitions. One of their goals was to use force to protect the safety of missionaries.

When Franz first heard about this organization, another name came to mind: Astartes.

It was precisely because Franz knew these "Astartes" existed that he dared send Ambrosius to Chenla to rescue the princess.

At that moment, Ambrosius was the first to break the silence.

"Greetings, officials of Chenla. We are envoys of the Austrian Empire and hope to establish diplomatic relations with Chenla, exchanging goods and opening channels of trade. We have brought gifts for your royal family and hope you can arrange an introduction."

Zacker, the diplomat traveling with Ambrosius, took out several small gold bars and handed them to the Chenla officials.

The officials of Chenla were immediately flattered, and felt a strong sense of kinship toward the foreigner before them who spoke Chenla.

But when they heard that the visitors wanted to meet the royal family, they exchanged glances.

Only Kuan Kim-pan thought this was an opportunity. Perhaps he could take advantage of these foreigners' ignorance of the country and fleece them for a hefty sum.

"I am Kuan Kim-pan, head of the Chenla Foreign Affairs Office."

Ambrosius followed Kuan Kim-pan's example and introduced himself.

"I am Ambrosius, a special military observer of the Austrian Empire. I hope to observe your army's training and combat."

Just then, a Chenla official stepped forward and said,

"You barbarian from a foreign land really don't know the rules. You've met Lord Kuan Kim-pan, so why aren't you kneeling?"

"Kneeling?" Ambrosius asked, confused.

Beside him, the Austrian diplomat Zacker's face twitched twice before he said,

"Archduke Ambrosius is a member of the Austrian imperial family. Please mind your manners."