In late July of the year 909 in the Royal Calendar, an explosive piece of news spread throughout every corner of the world except for the Demon Realm — the Theocracy had undergone a change of regime.
Although much of the information about the coup was clearly distorted during its dissemination, at least the overall framework remained largely unchanged.
Therefore, anyone who follows this news has already learned:
The " Son of God " who had risen to fame in the previous year led his " Second Holy See " rebel army and Descent directly outside the Holy City.
After a fierce battle, the national "decapitation" operation was a complete success. The Holy City fell, and Ed Adrian became the new leader of the Theocracy.
He did not call himself Pope or Pope, nor did he reinstate the " Triple Crown," the Supreme position under God. He simply continued to refer to himself as the " Son of God " and directly took over all affairs of the Theocracy with his own people.
Of the three cardinals, two died and one surrendered. Geliwusi, who slipped away and surrendered, was key enough in the defection that he still enjoyed high office (indeed) and generous salary (questionable) in the "new regime." He simply completed his resignation from the position of cardinal very smoothly.
In addition to implementing some new laws, the name of the Theocracy has also changed slightly, from the former " Tree Worship Church Theocracy " to the current " Holy Tree Worship Church Theocracy," and this new name has also sparked much discussion.
In fact, the name change was not an official policy promoted by Ed, but the timing was just so coincidental, as this year was the 1453rd year of the "holy calendar" used within the Theocracy.
This miraculous number quickly brought tears to the eyes of a certain group of Soul Returner to the dead (pretended), after which they all declared that, in order to commemorate this great restoration, the word "Holy" should be added before the official name of the Theocracy to highlight the legitimacy of Son of God Ed.
According to them, the " Holy Roman Empire " in another world was originally the " Second Rome Empire," so the " Holy Tree Worship Church Theocracy " in this world was naturally also the " Second Tree Worship Church Theocracy."
The so-called " Second Tree Worship Church " obviously refers to their " Second Holy See," and everything corresponds so perfectly that there is no reason not to change the name.
Those Soul Returner came to this conclusion can be mainly divided into several factions. The "Roman zealots" are naturally one of them. In addition, there are the core forces who participated in the battles and construction of the Second Holy See and felt that the country deserved the word "holy," as well as some of Ed's personal fanatical supporters.
A group of people gathered together and quickly came up with a new, mischievous idea. Having just made a fortune on a large-scale, long-term quest, they pooled their money to bribe the exiled Elf King Nuowa, getting him to add a line to [ Elf's Dream ]:
[Whenever the term " Holy Tree Worship Church Theocracy " is mentioned, it must be used in the most formal and solemn tone.]
Nuowa was already short of money to recruit soldiers, also got lucky and completed the commission quickly and well, making everyone almost tearful with piety when they said the words " Holy Tree Worship Church Theocracy ".
The local people in the Holy City and even the entire Theocracy were unaware of the existence of the [ Elf's Dream ], a divine phenomenon capable of altering the subconscious. Thus, it quickly spread from person to person, and people naturally regarded this phenomenon as a gift from God. The spread of this "meme" quickly plunged the entire Theocracy into a frenzy.
This time, the Soul Returner ' actions received everyone's support and endorsement. Even though the local NPCs had no idea what Rome was, who cared?
After all, this new name sounds really sacred!
When both the Soul Returner and the locals thought the suggestion was good, Ed's own opinion seemed less important.
Thus, the name of the Theocracy was changed and ultimately adopted by the authorities.
The Soul Returner was very satisfied, the NPCs of the Theocracy were also very satisfied, and Ed wasn't exactly dissatisfied either.
Even so, some people still expressed their dissatisfaction.
As the end of the month approached, another piece of news suddenly arrived:
Former Cardinal Sailesi Richter of the Tree Worship Church Theocracy and several of his confidants traversed numerous blockades to reach the capital of the Skeleton Alliance, formerly known Norse Port, now the Sand Capital.
Here, in his capacity as the exiled head of the Holy See, he publicly condemned the Tree Worship Church and Ed the Son of God, claiming that they had been conducting large-scale forbidden human experiments in secret, capturing and luring a large number of young people for physical modification, using hallucinogenic plants to brainwash their followers, and causing a large number of innocent casualties, which led to the formation of the so-called immortal and invincible " Soul Returner " legion.
In addition, Sailesi stated that the actions of the rebel leader, "False Son of God " Ed, were heinous, outrageous, blasphemous, and utterly unforgivable!
Since he took control of the Holy City, none of the three cardinals have been able to remain in their positions. The entire Theocracy is now without a cardinal bishop, and all the power positions on the first floor are completely vacant. Ed holds the throne and wields absolute power, effectively establishing a dictatorship.
In conclusion, Sailesi stated that the more someone lacks something, the more they tend to emphasize it. This is evident from the current name of the Theocracy Theocracy; it is neither "holy" nor does it adhere to the " Tree Worship Church," and it cannot even be called a " Theocracy."
Once he consolidates his remaining forces, he will surely launch a counterattack on the Theocracy's homeland to reclaim its territory and publicly expose the usurper Ed's human skin mask!
However, the news did not cause much of a stir after it spread; instead, it made many people involved and unrelated to the topic very happy.
The reason is quite simple—among the messages that came with the Holy See coup was this:
Former Cardinal Sailesi Richter secretly split the Holy See and founded a heresy... He has been publicly executed and his head displayed throughout the country as punishment.
Millions of people in the Theocracy saw Sailesi's head, and now some guy from the Skeleton Alliance suddenly pops up claiming, "I'm Sailesi!" Isn't that just plain ridiculous?
Besides, even if the Sailesi who spoke is real, so what—if he's really that powerful, why are you running away?
By mid-August, the entire Theocracy had been completely unified, and the chaotic voices disappeared.
The Soul Returner Legion recaptured ten provinces, excluding Aduolin and Fitz, in just one month, like a tornado destroying a parking lot. Most of the time was spent traveling and pacifying civilians, and there were very few occasions when they actually needed to take action.
When the news spread, people from other factions felt that Sailesi was a complete clown. They all said that Cardinal Sailesi was a respectable man in life, and that instead of just laughing it off, they should spit on him before he passed away.
However, when the news reached the " Holy Tree Worship Church Theocracy " (in a serious tone), the situation seemed to be different.