A third flag had risen atop Dar City's gate tower.
There had originally been two flags here: the Dragon-Tail Flag representing the Dar Family, and the Gold Coin Flag representing the Gold Coin Federation. The Gold Coin Flag flew higher, while the Dragon-Tail Flag flew lower, signifying that the Dar Family was subordinate to the Gold Coin Federation. But today, a third flag had appeared between them.
The Green Jellyfish Flag of the Church of Void Mask flew high overhead, rising a great deal higher than even the Gold Coin Flag.
This meant that Dar Territory had changed from a traditional noble territory into a church territory. From this day onward, the entire Dar Family would become vassals of the Church of Void Mask. Should disputes over inheritance arise in the future, they would only seek the Church of Void Mask to preside over mediation and would have nothing further to do with other nobles.
To put it plainly, they had withdrawn from the noble system and joined the clergy system.
Such things were uncommon, but they did happen from time to time. Some weak nobles often considered clinging to the thighs of powerful churches, shifting from the noble system into the clergy system.
For those weak nobles, if they wanted to survive and preserve their families, they had to cling to someone's thigh anyway. It did not matter whose thigh they clung to. Compared with nobles who appeared refined and courteous on the surface but devoured people whole behind the scenes, most benevolent churches were sincere, dependable, and worthy of trust. The only problem was that benevolent churches imposed strict requirements on lords who were believers. If a family could not remain on the path of goodness in the future, its territory might be stripped away—such things had happened