A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 523 Historical Mission

The Allied forces gradually learned that the National Guard was splitting up and heading south again.

"If we retreat now, we still have room to maneuver. The Ito Mountains can hold off the Valuvans from the north." The military attaché of the Republic of Venaya was already considering retreat: "Venaya will not hesitate to be purged by the enemy at the last moment before bankruptcy."

"Bankruptcy? This isn't business!" The general of the Kingdom of Sardinia slammed his fist on the table in anger. "From the moment we set foot on Valuava soil, there was no turning back!"

"That's you, you country bumpkins." The military officer from Venaya then revealed his businessman's face again: "We hold a large amount of Valois bonds and can continue to lend them money in the past, present, and future. The Valois lack nothing right now."

"We can reconcile with the Northern Republic at any time if we want, even if it means losing some profits. But compared to angering them and paying compensation to the families of those who died in the war, it's a worthwhile deal."

Opinions within the "Holy Alliance" are extremely divided. This is normal, as the alliance includes religious armed groups driven out of the Republic, as well as armies from various southern kingdoms.

Meanwhile, the southern kingdoms each harbored their own ambitions. One faction consisted of the wealthy and powerful merchant city-states represented by Venaya, while the other faction represented the Kingdom of Sardinia, a nation of filial sons united near the Holy See of the Church of Order and Light.

The extent of their filial piety is questionable, but the once supreme Order of the Church, led by a filial son and known in the name of holiness, Valois, turned its back on God. After much deliberation, the Pope decided that the Church still had some resources, so he used them to assemble more than a dozen divisions, thus achieving the greatest unity of the allied forces: the soldiers wore the same uniforms.

All that's left are disagreements.

Several clergymen entered the joint command post. They nodded to the commanding generals and then read out the Cardinal's resolution: "All allied forces are requested to prepare for war and attack Arnion."

This was the only resolution that no one objected to.

Agnéon, a religious sanctuary south of Valois, was unfortunately occupied by heretics.

When the Republic, with the support of the sorcerer, began to investigate church property, replenish the meager national treasury, and confiscate land under the church's name, these new policies aroused dissatisfaction among many people in the south of the Republic. Compared with the more open and progressive north, they still did not lose their way and turn away from God.

When the allied forces entered Valois, they were surprised to find that believers within the republic had risen up in rebellion against Valois, centered in the holy city of Agnion.

However, the Allied Forces and the Order Church headquarters of the Eternal City soon discovered that something was wrong. These devout believers, who had formed an "earthly divine kingdom," were not giving the Allied Forces any communication and even drove away the bishops who came to persuade them. Before the National Guard turned its attention to resisting the Imperial Army, it also turned a blind eye to the "Arnon separatist forces."

The final evidence confirming that these people were heretics came from the fact that local believers began to spread rumors of church corruption, claiming that the Pope was dying and had become a puppet of the College of Cardinals. Most seriously, they revealed the secret of why the monastery boys' farts were silent.

They began to sever ties with the Church and nominated a living saint from Agnès as "the true pope in accordance with God's will."

The accusations made by these heretics against the Church revealed that there were their own people causing trouble. In the end, the College of Cardinals identified the mastermind behind the "Agnón Pseudo-Papal" as the former Cardinal of Valois and the Kingdom's Prime Minister, Deplessi.

This strong contender for the next pope, the most powerful charismatic figure of his time, disappeared from public view after the persecution, but the other bishops knew that this being, on par with the Archmage, would not simply end his life. His miracles in Arneon and his recognition as a living saint may also have been the work of Duplessi.

Thus, the "false papacy" was placed between the Allied forces and the rest of Valois. Finally, the College of Cardinals made up its mind to declare that all those who obeyed the orders of the "false pope" of Arnion were heretics and enemies, and that the Allied forces should do everything in their power to eliminate them.

In Arnion, the newly formed Papacy received a guest.

"I didn't expect you to arrive so quickly without using an airship, General Garisha."

"I have long admired your name, Lord Deplesi. When you ruled the kingdom, I was just an unknown nobody. Now, with vehicles called chariots, we can go even faster if it weren't for the time spent repairing the roads."

The former cardinal's expression changed slightly: "The past is best left unsaid. I... never mind. Now that the National Guard has arrived, my mission, and Arnion's mission, are over."

"No, the new vehicles are limited, and the pressure from the Empire is still there. We cannot spare more troops to deal with the reinforcements, so we hope that you can have that Patriarch issue an order to have your armed forces participate in the battle as well."

After making his request, the general immediately handed over a confidential letter from the National Salvation Committee, briefly explaining:

"The committee and the National Assembly have recognized that we have made many mistakes in dealing with religion, that the process has been too rough, and that some commissioners have even colluded with practitioners to plunder the property of believers."

"Going forward, we will reflect on our mistakes, respect the public's religious order and the freedom of those seeking enlightenment, and hope that the Vatican of Agnès will cooperate with the committee's work."

Duplessi shook his head: "I won't look at those. As for the secret letter, all the people who trust the new papacy, even the most devout believers, are clearly aware that they are first and foremost Valois and will not hand over their ancestral homeland to invaders."

What he really wanted to ask was whether, besides reflecting, there was any awareness of correcting and making amends for the mistakes? But the former cardinal thought again that asking this question would only embarrass the general in front of him, and would serve no other purpose.

Galisha gave Deplesie a solemn military salute: "I'm relieved to hear you say that."

In mid-December, the "Festival of Sacred Recitation" was approaching, but even near Arnion, the area with the strongest religious atmosphere in Valois, there was little festive joy, because everyone could sense that a war was about to descend upon the region like a storm.

The Eternal City will never allow the false pope of Arnion to spend the most important festival of the Church of Order and Light with his followers in peace. Regardless of whether the Allied Forces advance or retreat in the future, they should help the Church produce this bunch of heretics.

Both the Papacy's pacifist army and the allied forces of the southern nations began exchanging scout cavalry and mobilizing paladins.

On a high ground south of Valois, Rorschach, having counted several scouts, pulled out a map and muttered, "This is the most likely battlefield. I wonder how large the battle will be. Both sides are technologically inferior to the regular army in terms of tactics and equipment. The only interesting thing might be a civil war among the paladins?"

Both orthodox and heretical paladins can receive divine protection. This makes Rorschach suspect that the Lord of Order also has a penchant for entertaining.

He took out a dull, lifeless bead; the details of the astral transaction from a few days prior still echoed in his ears:

"A large-scale battle is about to take place in the south of Valois, and you must use this opportunity to revive 'Baran Toth'."

"And, just as you used transmutation dust to create a body, provide Him with a near-perfect husk after His resurrection."

(End of this chapter)