Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 627 Watchdog

Cardinal Ismail and Rivera were stunned when the two messengers, dressed in completely different styles, walked side by side into the camp tent.

The younger man in black was easy to identify... It was the standard uniform of the army of the United Kingdom of Saint Valen, with the castle spear insignia embroidered on his chest and shoulders being particularly eye-catching. Anyone who knew the origins of the Northern Army could recognize his identity at a glance.

But another middle-aged man with slightly graying hair and a mottled, dirty priest's robe... made the two bishops startled—there were actually spies from the Northern Kingdom infiltrated into the church's lower-level priests.

Or rather, they had no idea how many lower-ranking clergy had been secretly infiltrated and bribed, and only today did the other party expose it without any concealment, which was as ironic as slapping the two of them in the face.

“Your Excellencies, this is Captain Farrell, the counselor of the Western War Zone General Staff of the United Kingdom of the North and Saint Valen.” The middle-aged priest then pointed to himself and said apologetically, “As for me… I cannot disclose my specific position in detail, please just call me Beetle.”

Ismail's expression was somewhat grim, but he forced a nod and asked, "What will of the Northern Emperor do you two intend to convey by coming here in person?"

"I urge you to stop your southward retreat," Farrell said succinctly, seemingly unafraid of the two powerful figures in the Vatican's leadership, but rather treating them with the same contempt one would show to a defeated adversary.

"If our intelligence is correct, the border lords of Pharos, Iluvia, and the Principality of Barkley... have all refused your request to enter the country, and some even plan to gather troops to block the border and stop you."

Rivera was not good at pretense and frankly admitted, "That's right. Exiled believers are prone to becoming refugees and flooding local villages and towns. What's more, we also have more than three thousand Judgment Knights accompanying us, which is no different from a large army pressing in on those noble lords."

Ismail then added, "Therefore, as instructed by His Holiness the Pope, we will disperse the exiled people and the Inquisition Army into dozens of small units and relocate them to dioceses throughout the southern region, striving to avoid impacting the local noble forces."

Farrell shrugged and shook his head, saying, "These arrangements are not important. We are here on His Majesty the Emperor's orders to urge you to stop your evacuation to the south."

After saying this, he took out a document from his pocket bearing the official seal of the kingdom, stood up, and handed it to the cardinal who was stunned on the spot.

Ismail quickly opened the book and read through the few lines of less than half a page from beginning to end. He suddenly stood up and said incredulously, "Your Emperor demands that we return to the Holy City of Goris?"

The middle-aged man nicknamed Beetle nodded and patiently explained, "According to the agreement reached between His Majesty and Pope XIII, we have successfully stopped the alien enemies invading the Holy City and completely cut off their reinforcement routes... However, His Majesty does not intend to directly occupy Goris, nor does he have any plans to station troops there permanently..."

"So that's why you want to force us to return, to clean up the remaining alien races that escaped from the Holy City, and to guard the blocked gap between the saints?" Rivera immediately understood, asking hesitantly. "The Divine Punishment Faction took away most of the high-ranking combat priests. Ordinary bloodline knights can't fight against hordes of winged beings. Forcing us to return to the Holy City... is just a way to send us to our deaths." Ismail sighed, staring at Captain Farrell. "If I'm not mistaken, even if we disperse and forcibly retreat south, the border lords of the various kingdoms will be pressured by you and send troops to guard us closely, right?"

Farrell spread his hands and said, "So I hope the two bishops will not be stubborn and push so many soldiers and civilians into the fire... Besides, returning to the Holy City is not a certain death situation. The Winged Ones have already been mostly wiped out by our special forces. The remaining survivors in the city are mostly ground forces, and their numbers will not exceed a thousand. You can handle them completely."

Rivera pondered for a moment and asked, "Even if we successfully repel the remaining alien races in the city, the Holy City has been completely destroyed by war and landslides. There are no food reserves, and there is a lack of medicine and necessary living supplies. How can these nearly 10,000 believers and civilians start living again in the ruins?"

Farrell seemed to have anticipated their response, and with a smirk, said, “No need to worry. As long as the Holy See is willing to sign a ‘Gatekeeper Agreement’ with us, the United Kingdom is willing to provide you with food, medicine, and necessary relief supplies. The Holy City of Goris will also be placed under our military control. Once the alien races return… the Western Theater Command, located on the border of Arid, will immediately dispatch air forces to support you.”

Gatekeeper... Agreement?
Ismail and Rivera exchanged a glance and said with a wry smile, "Tying us to the ruins of the Holy City to guard the collapsed and blocked gaps between the saints for you, and as long as we obey, we can get food and supplies... It seems that it should be called the 'Watchdog Agreement'."

The intelligence officer, codenamed "Beetle," chuckled lightly, his expression somewhat mocking. "This is His Majesty's leniency towards the moderates. You did not directly participate in the conspiracy that triggered the civil war in Saint Valen, and your actions against the Divine Punishment faction's attacks on spellcasters can only be considered tacit accomplices... Rather than retreating to those independent dioceses in the southern kingdoms and waiting to be gradually eliminated by us, it is better to return to the Holy City and hold the fort. At least we can preserve the last embers of faith for the Church."

Ismail clenched his fists and spoke with difficulty, "You...you plan to purge all the church forces in the southern kingdoms?"

"According to the agreement between His Majesty and Pope XIII, the Divine Punishment Faction must be completely eradicated, while the Moderate Faction will be gathered together and sent back to the Holy City to join you who remain." Farrell and his companion stood up, bowed, and took their leave. "The detailed terms of the agreement will be sent along with relief supplies before you depart for Goris. We will come to see the two bishops again at that time."

Before leaving the camp tent, the intelligence officer "Beetle" seemed to remember something and turned to Ismail with a smile: "I forgot to remind Your Excellency the Bishop that there is no need to send your knights to the nearby towns to purchase food anymore. The entire territory of Arid is now under our military control, and all the people have been moved to Saint Valen in advance. You will not be able to buy a single grain of food."

……

Watching the two figures hurriedly depart, Ismail felt that none of the humiliations and contempt he had ever suffered in his life could compare to the unbearable scene before him. The Northern Emperor had merely dispatched two unknown officers, yet he had arranged their future clearly and without allowing them any refusal.

"The gatekeeper agreement... it turns out it's just turning Grace into a prison to hold and detain us..."

(End of this chapter)