OBS Chapter 112: Increasing the Quantity
Chapter 112: Increasing the Quantity
"Have you killed all those cultists?"
In the Earl's Castle, John asked the captain of the White Wolf Knights.
"They have all been killed. It's the first time for many recruits, so they are still a little nervous. However, this one time alone will not be enough to temper their hearts. We need to prepare more cultists." The centurion responded.
"Hmm...it seems I have to think about where to find so many cultists." John looked at the map, thinking about where hundreds of cultists could gather, and then he shifted his attention to the Hall of the King of Law in the southwest.
The French King's Office is a country that relies on religion to govern its people. It is also the headquarters of religious institutions in various countries, from churches as small as a village to the archbishop's church in a capital city and the Inquisition. In the end, all information is gathered in the French King's Office for the King of France and the archbishops to adjust their policies toward various countries.
For a long time, the only two military actions of the French Royal Office, apart from launching a holy war against pagans, were to arrest cultists that appeared in various countries.
In most cases, captured cultists and pagans would not be killed immediately. Instead, they would be put on trial first, then tied to pillars in the city square and burned at the stake with hay spread underneath. This not only deterred other lawless elements, but also strengthened the influence of the Pope's Office in the local area.
Especially in the main territory of the Hall of the King of France, basically a cultist would be burned every few days in every city square. This gave rise to a profession called Cultist Hunter, who made a living by catching cultists.
However, cultists are arrested every year, but they are never caught completely. Generally speaking, burning at the stake has become a special performance program in the local area, and the imprisoned cultists have added considerable pressure to the prisons in every city.
So at John's invitation, Pross was called over by John again. Although Pross was a little surprised that John asked the French Palace to borrow cultists, he soon calmed down. After all, this brother could do anything.
A few days later, a letter from the Counties of Franche-Comté reached Archbishop Midland.
"More than a thousand cultists were killed so quickly." Although Archbishop Midland was a general who had participated in the holy war, he was also a little shocked at the ability to deal with the cultists so quickly. After all, John's age was there. A 17-year-old child could be so cruel to kill a thousand cultists at the same time, which made the archbishop wonder who the cultists were.
Fortunately, this time we are asking the French King's Office for the cultist, otherwise the archbishop would have to catch him on the spot.
Finally, Archbishop Midland wrote a letter and asked someone to deliver it to the French Royal Palace with the whole story, hoping that those people would not be surprised by this incident.
The King's Hall
"Then let's discuss the matter of John from the Kingdom of Midland requesting the cultists." The King of France felt something was very wrong after he finished speaking. After thinking about it carefully, he felt something was even more wrong. Not only was he confused, but everyone present found it incredible after hearing it.
“I’ve never heard of such a reason.”
"Yes, there are people who borrow money and soldiers from the Dharma King's Office, but I have never heard of anyone borrowing cultists from the Dharma King's Office."
"This guy is treating the French King's Hall as a vegetable market."
Listening to the archbishops' questions, the King of France thought for a moment, then cleared his throat and said:
"Everyone, let's not discuss John's attitude towards the Fawang Hall for now. The current issue is whether or not to provide John with cultists."
If an ordinary person had made this request, the bigwigs in the King's Office would have started scolding him long ago, but since this was proposed by John, the King's Office couldn't help but reconsider it.
Although officially, the Kingdom of Midland and the French Royal Office have a very good relationship, this is not the case when it comes to local implementation.
First of all, there were the local nobles. Originally, they used the collected taxes for their own use. When the tithes from the French King's Hall arrived, the nobles had to distribute their taxes. Of course, some of them just refused to pay, and used various methods to extend the payment period of the tithes. As a result, only a few people paid the tithes on time and in full last year. Even John's tithe was ranked in the top three.
Next are the citizens and villagers. The nobles certainly did not want to give part of their original income to the church, so they could only further exploit these people who were already barely surviving. These people only knew that they had to pay tithes to the church, and coupled with the previous wanton exploitation of them by the nobles, they took their anger out on the new church.
So, picking a general from among the short ones, John is considered to be a noble who is close to the French King's Office among all the Midland nobles. In addition, John's current influence and military strength, as well as his future development space, make everyone in the French King's Office have to treat him with caution.
"I think it's not impossible." Lusitan of the Angel Sword Knights suggested first.
"I'm sure everyone knows Earl John's attitude towards cultists. So sending the cultists to him can at least ensure that they will not survive for more than a day. By the way, it can also solve the current problem of overcrowded prisons."
Listening to Lusitan's words, a blond middle-aged man beside him echoed:
"I think what Captain Lusitan said does make sense. As the patriarch of the Bandimeo family, I have already spent a lot of money here, but the number of cultists is still increasing. So, it would be better to send all of them away and save some money to deepen the relationship with other nobles in Midland."
If Lusitan's previous words were considered suggestions, then this man's words were almost like a compulsory command. But there was nothing anyone present could do, because he was one of the current major financiers of the French Office and the patriarch of the Bandimeo family - Fidelico. If the French Office wants to continue to operate, it will not last long relying solely on tithes. At this time, it needs some wealthy nobles to invest in them, and then let the French Office endorse them, so as to achieve a mutually beneficial result.
Seeing that their financial backers had spoken, the people in the Palace of the King of Popes had nothing to say. After all, the life or death of the cultists did not have much impact on them, so they were determined not to cut off their funding because of this matter.
Seeing that no one objected, the King said:
"Then, the transportation of the cultists to Midland has been decided. First, transport some of the prisoners of the Inquisition to Midland, and then let the Midland Church help guard them. Make sure to send these people to Franche-Comté."
It has to be said that the efficiency of the French Palace was still very high. All the prisoners to be transported were loaded onto the truck on the same day, and then escorted all the way to the Midland border under the protection of Lusitan. Finally, with the cooperation of the Midland Church, it took a month and successfully delivered them to Franche-Comté before the arrival of winter.
"Hey, Captain Lusitan, it's you again."
This time there were too many people, so John came over to check it out in person. When he saw that it was his old acquaintance Lusitan, he immediately greeted him warmly.
"Count John, the King's Office has approved your proposal. We will notify you whenever there are cultists transported here. I have to report back to the King's Office, so I won't stay any longer. May the God of Light bless you forever."