Black sail

Chapter 490 CXXIV. Rabbit Meat
The front section of the Mulong Railway, Black Rock City.

Churches cannot be built in the royal city of Mulong. According to the terms agreed upon between the royal court and the religious sect, they are only allowed along the railway.

If they want to go further, the Army will not provide any support and will not be responsible for any encroachment by the sect, completely disconnecting.

Although it had been changed into a principality in the agreement signed with the puppet government, it was still not enough.

In the traitorous treaty, the railway section belongs entirely to the Alan territory and does not need to pay taxes to Prince Muron. There is also a garrison agreement. In the cities along the railway, the Alan Army will maintain national security for a long time.

Even when the Principality of Bema was defeated, it did not allow the presence of Alan troops, knowing that the East Coast was an important trading place with the Far East, and with this foundation, it could make a comeback. If it agreed to allow the presence of Alan troops, Bema would exist in name only, and there would be no such country anymore.

Worried that the Pema might unite as one and launch a counterattack after the old king's heroic death, Alan did not press the issue and abandoned his garrison.

It is obvious that at present, the Mulong people are not as brave as the Pema people, at least when it comes to the elite class.

Black Rock City was the first city on Crocodile Island to station troops, serving as the army's rear base.

It is also the location where Zote built his first church.

The local lords had already been subdued by Crocodile Island and did not resist any requests.

At this time, the temple of Holy Allah is being violently demolished, and the Church of the Dragon of Eternity and Time is being built in its place.

Excessive sun exposure.

The first time you do a job, you have to do it well.

The heavily armored priests of the Judgment Hall, these black iron cans holding war hammers are extremely powerful. Even if the ruins of a building hit them, the super heavy plate armor several centimeters thick will only leave a painless mark.

Smash the walls and break the statues.

The debris was constantly being carried out of the city on carts.

After hearing the news, many residents of Black Rock City gathered here to watch, but because Alan's prestige was too great, even believers did not dare to say anything. Only some truly devout people shed tears.

"I thought Mulon was poor."

Zote glanced at the crying faces and the three- or four-story khaki stone houses that stood in a row in the city. After all, times had changed and the city was richer than the old Alan period. Moreover, Mullon's ancestors had also been wealthy.

Alan sensed the weakness of the irreconcilable contradictions within Muron, and directly beheaded the old king and his entire family. Although a woman escaped, it was harmless. The newly supported king was almost completely flattering, and no full-scale war broke out.

Therefore, most areas were not affected by the war.

"It is indeed very poor now. After I talked with the lord of this place, I found that Crocodile Island has been making more money than expected. The military funds allocated by the royal court must have been used very little. Food, supplies, and even military pay were all plundered from the occupied land."

the deputy replied.

"After so many days, they only sent a small soldier to coordinate the work. Where is he?"

Zote's instincts that had been worn away in the prison were awakened, as if he had returned to the bloody storm of old Aram. No one could treat him coldly like this.

"We fought the Seventh Amendment people on the front line, but it would be more accurate to say that we crushed them. If we hadn't built the railroad, the Coral Heights would have been flattened long ago."

The deputy saw the collapsed followers of Allah and asked the heavily armed priests to be careful not to hit passers-by when transporting the rubble.

"That would save trouble."

Zote was also tired of killing. For now, the eighteen squadrons did not need to fight, they only needed to preach.

He has taken so many lives. After years of suppression, he can always tell who in the crowd is willing to risk their lives to do something.

Several men with muskets hidden in the crowd are slowly approaching. A suicide attack?
But most people were intimidated by the fully armed black iron cans and did not dare to get close to the demolition site. They just cried and prayed in grief.

"Are there any church coins left?"

"What do you mean?"

"It's the war zone ticket. It seems you don't understand this. The sect's war potential has not been stimulated for too long. Necessities and monopoly mean the right to issue currency. Now in order to show the Dragon Lord's grace and power and assimilate the pagans here, the only way is to give alms, but giving out gold dragons is a bit too generous. Thirty or forty years ago, in the areas occupied by the sect, obedient people received church coins once a month, which could be exchanged for food and daily necessities at the church."

What Zote didn't finish saying was that labor could also be exchanged for church currency. For these loyal people, allowing them to use the purchasing power of church currency to exceed their previous living standards, they would naturally be assimilated.

The cost of the whole process is very low.

After noticing the actions of those people, Zote began to speak in official language to the surrounding Mulon people. The emperor was far away and he could speak freely in this foreign country.

In the eyes of these people, long speeches are of course useless, and what is needed is the efficient transmission of information.

Since Crocodile Island has given me the cold shoulder, there is no need to indulge him.

"The Army's actions have caused a lot of trouble for everyone. Starting today, the Eternal Church will provide free food, eggs, and meat. You can come here every day to receive them. At special times, the church will guarantee the interests of believers."

After Zote said this.

Several people who were hiding muskets paused for a moment, but did not take any further action.

No one believed in Zote's plan. Free alms? What you stole from us you gave back to us? Isn't it ridiculous that you and the army are doing this in a roundabout way?

Instead, it had a bad effect. A small number of fanatical Allah believers became angry and began to squeeze the heavily armed pastor who was surrounding the demolition site. It was such a shame and humiliation that death would be the end of it.

"Anything taken from the sect will have receipts. If the army wants it from you, they can come to me. I'm the sect's most influential person in Mulong. Anyone who blasphemes the Dragon Lord's will must be punished by death." Zote said calmly.

During his long life, he understood the essence of human beings.

No matter how fanatical your beliefs are or how strong your national hatred is, it is useless.

With the power of life and death in their hands, as long as their relatives and friends are alive, their lives are decent, and there is a glimmer of hope, most people would not dare to rebel, even if they are like wild beasts who still retain the farming instinct.

The riot was briefly suppressed.

At least now it sounds like the Dragon of Eternity and Time is indeed much more generous than Holy God. Their god has never blessed this land.

Zote immediately arranged for people to carry out the task. As for the matter of the church currency, they would wait for ten days or half a month until these people got used to it.

"Oh, right. When we got off the train, I left a Mulon alive and asked him to give alms. Also, fresh meat is very expensive during the war. We have no choice but to use our reserves. Bacon, sausages, in short, we must have meat every day."

He ordered his deputy that the Eternal Church had endless money, and as long as it was not excessive to the point of being ridiculous, the sect's budget for this operation was extremely sufficient.

Half an hour later.

The donation area outside the demolition site has been prepared, with eggs, grain, meat, and even plenty of it, but there are still very few people coming to collect.

They are all poor people who are poorly dressed and already poor.

But Zote didn't care. Hunger was the best motivation. When they realized that the sect was the last place to stay, it would be overcrowded at the latest the day after tomorrow.

Construction of the first cardinal church will also begin.

This move was seen by the army stationed there, and they naturally went back to report it to their superiors.

This was exactly what Zote wanted. He was eager to have a reason to kill Crocodile Island.

However, Zote did not see the people he had left alive that day at the charity site. Perhaps he did not want to face his compatriots as a traitor.

He returned to the sect's temporary base, a piece of land forcibly seized from the lord in Black Rock City.

Rows of heavily-armored priests rest here. They don't need to attack. The deterrence alone is enough to scare away a powerful army.

Zote found a remnant of the resistance army who was detained by the sect, slumped in the corner with a pale face. He was a Muron man who looked to be about sixteen or seventeen years old.

"Didn't I ask you to make a donation? Are you afraid of being embarrassed?"

"That's right, you might as well kill me with one knife."

"Killing a person is easy, but I always like to challenge more difficult things. Have you heard of Oriental chess? It is a kind of chess that came from the Far East. It is rumored that the Alan Sword King is an expert player."

"I know."

"That's great. You should know clearly what situation Mu Long is in. The road has been completely blocked, and all the subsequent chess pieces will be eaten. What is needed at this time is to give up decisively and open up another road."

A flash of reminiscence flashed in Zote's eyes.

The young man did not answer or make any comment.

"Yes, it is actually very difficult to do. It is even more difficult than people imagine. Even for me, it took me more than 20 years to fully understand this principle."

Zote's left eye was removed, leaving only an empty hole. He touched the hideous scar running down his face, as if it had been scratched by a wild beast.

"Do you know that you will starve to death if you only eat rabbit meat?"

"How can this be?"

"It is true. In the Northern Prison, this is called rabbit meat starvation. If you only consume rabbit meat for a long time, you will become weak all over, lose weight rapidly, and eventually die. I am one of the contributors to this research result, but I managed to survive in the end."

The young man frowned. Was this person a former felon?

"During that time, I met a lot of interesting people who shared their criminal experiences with me. The funniest thing was that there was a man who was a perfectionist. His father killed his dog, and he ate it without knowing it. After learning about this, he felt that he could no longer be a good person, and could only follow through and become a murderer."

Zote stood up and prepared to leave.

He just felt it was meaningless.

"Have you heard of the Witch Hunting Secret Service and those murderous sergeants?"

"There is no one in the Western Continent who doesn't understand."

"That's good. I just want to tell you that the blood of hell cannot drown them, because they are all standing on my shoulders, and so are you.

The priest in charge of the Cardinal Church here is a beauty. Go there early and donate with her."

Zote patted his shoulder and turned away.

He felt the hairs on his body stand on end. Yes, it could only be the person who was rumored to have escaped from the Northern Prison eleven years ago.

(End of this chapter)