Nearly a century later, the Papal State, which had been at peace for a long time, have once again begun to wage war.
The saying that a nation's strength is truly revealed during times of war is absolutely true.
With the issuance of His Holiness Adam's Apostolic Decree, even though many people felt his actions were unreasonable, the entire Papal State mobilized instantly from top to bottom.
Missionaries and Church knights worked together to seize the poor and conscript them into the army, and extort money from the rich in major cities. Although many of them lined their own pockets, the movement was underway nonetheless. Countless riches flowed to the Holy See, and countless poor people were forcibly sent to the battlefield.
Because His Holiness Adam characterized this battle as a war of attrition, he did not send many of the Church Knights, the true strength of the Papal State, to the battlefield. Instead, he only mobilized a small number of Church and missionaries to the battlefield to urge the poor to charge.
In contrast, the Boya Empire, which practiced a feudal system, was completely different from other countries.
Following the Papal State ' declaration of war, the King of the Boya Empire waved his hand and sent requests for troops to all the major lords.
That's right, it's a request.
Although King Boya was called a king, he did not have complete control over his lords. Even though this was a war of aggression, some lords still ignored him.
Not only did the major lords ignore him, but the minor lords also ignored him.
My subordinates' subordinates are not my subordinates; this is no joke.
In order to secure military support and fight against the Papal State, the Boya Empire and the royal families of the surrounding lord states had to offer incentives to entice the lords to contribute.
But this fully demonstrates the vast differences between the two systems.
The Lino City remains in chaos. War cannot be fought in a day; even pre-war preparations will take at least a month or two.
The Church knights also had to arrest the poor and confiscate their wealth, which greatly extended the Papal State ' preparation time for war and made Lino City even more chaotic.
This chaos presents a perfect opportunity for all those with ill intentions.
The Church in Lino City, the outermost room at the very top of the castle walls.
After His Holiness the Pope issued the Apostolic Deeds, Archbishop Duoxia moved his residence here.
Standing in this room, you can see most of the Lino City through the windows.
Archbishop Duoxia stood at the window, gazing out at the chaos in Lino City. After a long while, he finally let out a soft sigh.
"The Pope has led the Church to its doom!"
Archbishop Duoxia's face was filled with sorrow.
From the day the Pope began conscripting soldiers, various rumors and gossip cursing the Church increased significantly, and the Church's image gradually shifted from positive to negative. This contradicted Archbishop Duoxia's consistent stance.
The consequences may not be apparent now that the Holy See is powerful, but once Holy See shows signs of weakness, those who rush in will surely tear the Church apart and even interrupt its transmission!
Archbishop Duoxia was an orphan, and the Church that raised him was everything to him.
His greatest dream was to be chosen as a sacrifice in the Holy See's Ascension Ritual when he was old and frail, to let the flames ignite his pure heart, so that he could ascend to heaven and serve God.
Therefore, the continuation of the Church is everything to him!
The war intentions of the Boya Empire were halted for this period not because of internal problems, but because Bishop Duoxia had not betrayed them. This made the King of the Boya Empire suspect that it was a trap, and the five hundred Holy Knight were not wiped out as a result.
The reason Archbishop Duoxia did not betray the papacy was that the Papal State were still in a period of peace and prosperity, and countless nobles, the wealthy, and even the poor still believed in the Holy See. Archbishop Duoxia's betrayal would not bring any reputational redemption to the Church, but would instead make him a typical example of the Holy See to manipulate.
But things are different now. The Pope is now arrogant and tyrannical, causing the Holy See to lose the trust of the people and severely damaging the reputation of the Church, showing signs of stigmatizing the Church.
At this time, Archbishop Duoxia rebelled again, raising the banner of the Church's holiness, that it should not control politics, and that God is merciful and should not wage war. People from all walks of life who were dissatisfied with the papal decrees would undoubtedly take his ideas as their guide.
Even if Archbishop Duoxia dies because of this, he can use his life to wash away some of the stain on the Church, let people know the true holiness of the Church, and perhaps even leave behind a spark of missionary work when the Holy See is in danger of collapse in the future. If he is lucky enough to survive and really overthrows the Holy See, then the Church can truly be reformed and enjoy a foundation for all ages!
so.
"It's time!" Archbishop Duoxia turned his gaze away from the Lino City and then said to his attendants, "Go and summon Bishop Good Father Abraham."
He had barely finished speaking when a voice came from the Church knight guarding the door.
"Your Excellency Archbishop Duoxia, Bishop Good, and Father Abraham request an audience!"
"Oh? That's perfect! Let them in." Archbishop Duoxia was slightly surprised, but he quickly waved his hand, dismissing his attendants.
Archbishop Duoxia returned to his seat, awaiting the arrival of the two.
Meanwhile, they were outside.
Seeing the attendants emerging from Archbishop Duoxia's room, along with the two Church knights guarding the door, Bishop Good stepped forward with his head bowed and instructed the attendants, "By Archbishop Duoxia decree, war has begun. To pray for God's protection and to proclaim the glory of the Church, all cities must hold grand sacrifices to inspire the people! Please have the messengers take them down to bathe and change. The sacrifices are about to begin; please be there on time."
"A sacrifice? Well, that's proper." Archbishop Duoxia's attendant seemed a little puzzled, but then nodded knowingly.
It's normal to hold a sacrificial ceremony before the start of a war. It's said that when the old pope was conquering the Boya Empire nearly a hundred years ago, he also held a nationwide sacrificial ceremony to boost morale.
Thinking of this, his attendant summoned two Church knights and headed towards the Church's bathing area.
That's right, in this magical Central Europe world where even toilets are too lazy to be built, Church are built with bathing facilities.
Moreover, it was built exceptionally well.
Because the Church needs sacrifices, and sacrifices require bathing, changing clothes, and even enemas, in order to achieve complete holiness so that they can see the glory of God.
"Pat, pat..."
Leisurely footsteps echoed in the bathroom.
The bathroom floor was slippery, making a slapping sound when you stepped on it.
The two Church knights stood in the changing area without the slightest doubt, removing their full steel armor, remaining silent throughout.
However, the leader's close associates were somewhat puzzled.
As he undressed, he looked around the bathroom and noticed that it was slightly different from usual.
The religious symbols and decorations had been removed at some point, giving the originally solemn bathing area a touch of coolness.
Bishop Good had said they needed to bathe and change clothes for a ritual, but at this moment, the place was still deserted. Could it be that they were too late and everyone else had already finished bathing?
The attendant was slightly displeased. He always bathed in a private sanctuary, so why was no one coming to greet him this time?
However, considering that they might be late, the attendant had to suppress his anger, strip off his clothes, and head towards the bathhouse with the curtain hanging above the door.
"Swoosh!" As the curtain was lifted, the scene inside the bathhouse was revealed to the three of them.
The Papal State do not have the concept of privacy, so the so-called bathing is a large pit pool that can fit twenty people at a time.
Contrary to expectations of an empty bathhouse filled with dirty water, the pool was now teeming with Church members soaking in the water.
However, they were all facing away from the doorway, and remained completely still and silent. Instead of creating a lively atmosphere, it gave off a rather eerie and unsettling feeling.
The attendant frowned slightly, and for some reason, a bad feeling suddenly arose in his heart.
The next moment, all the Church members soaking in the bathhouse began to twist their bodies in unison.
Pairs of eyes, some bloodshot and some cloudy, were fixed on the three naked men standing at the entrance of the bathhouse.
"Hiss..." The attendant gasped.
However, the next moment, more than a dozen ferocious figures rushed out of the pool and frantically attacked the three people at the door.
"Hmm..."
A terrifying scream echoed through the bathhouse.