Pushing open the heavy wooden door of the secret chamber, a faint scent of Anxi grass wafted in. Archbishop Mayne was fond of these candles infused with herbs and spices, especially in windowless, enclosed spaces. The aroma they released brought him a sense of peace.
The chamber was small, only large enough for a round table and four chairs. The other two archbishops were already seated, while the head seat facing the wooden door remained empty. The Pope's health had been declining, and he hadn't appeared before the public for nearly half a year. Mayne himself only visited the secret area of the Hermes Chamber when faced with particularly thorny issues, seeking answers directly from the Pope.
"Since everyone is here, let's begin," Mayne said, sliding the bolt on the door and sitting between the two others. "Lord Tyferen, how is order being maintained in the Everwinter Kingdom?"
"Aside from the nobles in the royal capital, resistance is minimal in other areas. The commoners even welcome our takeover of the kingdom," Tyferen said, stroking his beard. "Of course, those who cling to past glories and stubbornly refuse to see reason will be eliminated one by one."
"Excellent," Heather licked her lips. "If I were to judge them, the people would gain a deeper understanding of their ugly, filthy side. It's a pity I have too much to do here and can't go to the Everwinter Royal City."
Mayne ignored her comment and said to Tyferen, "We need to fill those vacant positions with our people as soon as possible. The Church has trained a large number of talents for this very moment. The sooner we use them, the sooner we can free ourselves to deal with Wolfheart and Dawn. Everwinter has always been the kingdom most influenced by the Church, so the smaller the ripples, the better."
"That goes without saying."
"What should we do with those turncoat nobles who have defected to the Church?" Heather asked. "The reason the Church attracts so many outstanding believers is that we don't care about bloodlines, only ability. Recklessly accepting those fools would shake the foundation of the Church. My suggestion is..." She made a throat-slitting gesture.
"Leave them be for now. Once the kingdom's situation stabilizes, we'll clarify things with them. This will reduce resistance to the reforms." Mayne had specifically consulted the Pope about this. "The Church can provide them with positions equal to their titles, but they cannot be inherited by their descendants. Don't forget that we ultimately aim to eliminate the monarchy. There's no need to rush, Lady Heather."
Heather came from a humble background and suffered from hunger and homelessness before being taken in by the Church. But with her innate keen mind and exceptional judgment, she had steadily risen to her current position. Mayne understood her dislike for nobles, but in this situation, the bigger picture was more important.
"How is the situation over in Graycastle?" he asked.
"According to intelligence reports, after suffering a defeat, the new king, Tiefei Ke, did not return to the royal capital but went directly to the Eastern Territory," Tyferen replied.
"A smart choice," Heather snapped her fingers. "Dragging Duke Fran to challenge Queen Bishui, then immediately going to the Eastern Territory to divide his territory and stabilize morale after the duke's death, while also wooing other nobles... Tsk, tsk... not all the royals are idiots."
"This will save us a lot of trouble. Let the High Priest of the Graycastle royal capital church contact him. Surely, in this predicament, he won't refuse the bait the Church is offering. Reduce the drug supply to Bishui Port by another 30% to balance the strength between the two. Leave that to you, Lord Tyferen," Mayne instructed. "In just two more years, Graycastle will have no usable soldiers left."
"Rest assured," Tyferen nodded. "However... there's a slight problem with Longsong Stronghold, west of Graycastle."
"What problem?"
"After defeating Duke Lyon, the Fourth Prince, Roland, returned to Border Town. Tello's personal invitation was also rejected. Does he really have no intention of vying for the throne?"
"Hmm... what do you think?" Mayne looked at Heather.
The latter shrugged. "What else is there to think? What were the initial rumors about him again? Unskilled, with a bad character, incompetent, greedy. I don't think someone like that could possibly have taken Longsong Stronghold, right? So, the answer is simple: he deceived everyone, both the nobles and us."
"You mean..." Mayne frowned.
"Our Edict War chose the wrong character, Lord Mayne," she sneered. "He's the one who should have been on stage, not the Third Princess, Garcia."
"Defeating a duke does prove his ability, but no matter how talented someone is, without sufficient resources to utilize, it's meaningless," Tyferen shook his head. "Since he chose to return to that desolate land, it means he's given up the possibility of interfering in the Graycastle situation, and naturally, he won't pose any threat to our plans."
"That's right, in theory. But combining it with this piece of intelligence is very interesting," Heather tossed out a small slip of paper. "My personal intelligence."
Mayne unfolded the paper and quickly scanned the contents. "Witches?"
"Mmhmm, a witch organization calling itself the Mutual Aid Society claims to have gained a foothold in Border Town and is calling on other sisters to go there. Although these are just unsubstantiated rumors, they shouldn't be discussed here, but we all know that the name Mutual Aid Society is not fictional. Since being hunted by the Judgment Army in the Eastern Territory Forest, they've fled west, eventually disappearing west of Longsong Stronghold. And Border Town happens to be outside the western border of Graycastle, at the foot of the Endless Mountains. Lords, isn't this a little too coincidental?"
Mutual Aid Society... Mayne still had some impression of the name. They insisted on moving towards the Endless Mountains despite being pursued by the Judgment Army and losing many members. Interrogating captured witches revealed that they seemed to be seeking the Holy Mountain in the wilderness. This was a suicidal act, so he didn't invest more energy in it. There were several similar witch organizations in Wolfheart and Dawn Kingdoms, and lurking in the cities was far more threatening than rushing to the wilderness to die.
"Are you saying this prince is colluding with a witch organization?" Tyferen's face darkened after reading the message.
"Perhaps he is, perhaps he isn't." Heather curled her lips. "I'm just making a simple conjecture. What are witches most afraid of? 'Exposing themselves'. Obviously, using the name Mutual Aid Society is more likely to attract the Church's attention, but they still used this name in underground messages. Why?"
"Because for us, it's a familiar name," Mayne said calmly. "For other witches, it's the same."
"Full marks!" Heather clapped her hands twice. "Doing so can effectively reduce the vigilance of wild witches. Perhaps someone will be attracted by this message and set off to explore the truth in Border Town. It's hard to imagine that they would dare to play such a hand without the protection of a lord. We often say, choose the lesser of two evils. Obviously, the other party already believes that the consequences of not recruiting witches are more serious than being exposed..." At this point, her tone became sinister. "I feel like we're being underestimated."
"This isn't about being underestimated at all," Tyferen said angrily. "Once witches have a place to settle down, they can use their abilities without worry, and they may discover that the so-called Demonic Body Devourment can be avoided. This is why we must encircle and suppress any witches who settle down. Only by forcing them to constantly hide, run, and exile can this secret be maintained."
Mayne knew that the other party was right. Witches themselves posed no threat to the Church, but as a group, once they shed their identity as "evildoers", it would greatly impact the Church's propaganda and even shake the foundation of the Church's rule.
He found himself in a dilemma. In such a situation, a large number of Judgment Army should be sent to encircle and suppress them, but Border Town was too far from Hermes, and the Church's army was about to launch an attack on the Wolfheart Kingdom, making it difficult to spare manpower to eliminate this remote town. Moreover, at this crucial juncture, sending a large number of troops into Graycastle would inevitably arouse the vigilance of Graycastle and the other two kingdoms, which might affect the subsequent annexation plan.
After much deliberation, he made a decision.
"I will send an envoy团 composed of ten Judgment Army soldiers and one clergyman to Border Town to investigate the matter with the assistance of High Priest Tello. If the Mutual Aid Society's actions are unrelated to the lord, this envoy团 will be able to eliminate the witches on their own."
"What if they are related?" Heather asked.
The God's Punishment Army cannot be led by anyone other than himself and a few close confidants, a rule personally set by the Pope. Thinking of this, Mayne said, word by word: "Send the news back to the Holy City, and I will personally lead the God's Punishment Army there."