March 12, Joan of Arc Castle.

The pale golden sunlight streamed through the fluttering Salvation Banner, edging the church silhouette with the morning's gold.

In the square surrounded by City Hall and Joan of Arc Castle Church were representatives of the people dressed in various linen, woolen, and silk garments.

The citizen representatives, their mustaches twitching, gathered chaotically and noisily purchased butter and baked wheat cakes from street vendors.

The labor and peasant representatives with knotted beards merely partook of the complimentary black bread and clear water provided by the inns, dazedly huddled by the walls.

The town mayor and wealthy merchants gathered together early in the morning, holding butter ginger beer, whispering advice to the mayors of Gray Furnace Town and Mayo Town.

A cold breeze carrying a bit of warmth blew over, the scent of alcohol hitting the face of the guiding low-ranking monk who enviously sniffed and continued to lead the representatives to their seats.

At this moment, Victory Square was crowded with representatives who had come from afar.

This city square was originally called Klaus Square, but after a unanimous decision by the Senate, it was renamed Victory Square to commemorate the bloody battle of Joan of Arc Castle.

This time, the Believers' Assembly at Joan of Arc Castle was held in Victory Square.

A total of 392 representatives attended the conference, and as City Hall could not accommodate them, it was arranged in Victory Square.

The execution platform at the center of Victory Square had been removed and replaced by a 5x5 wooden platform for Horn's speech.

Even after multiple washings, the stench of blood still lingered in the air.

During this past week, Horn indeed did not execute hundreds of nobles daily, but the execution of a dozen or twenty in a day was not uncommon.

According to the accounting team's statistics, in a week, Horn executed 112 feudal and religious nobles for heresy, and arrested 903 monks, servants, knight stewards, etc.

Counting those local nobles killed in wars and purges in addition, Joan of Arc Castle brought down a total of 457 nobles through Horn's actions.

These 457 nobles comprised only 0.4% of the total population but occupied nearly half of the Kush Territory.

The actions of the Salvation Army were an uprising, a rebellion, essentially violent activities.

Without bloodshed, without violence, and without depriving the vested interests of their wealth, it was impossible to sustain the survival of the regime.

The essence of Horn's policy was to cut the top, support the middle, and supplement the bottom.

Under the current external environment and internal conditions, supporting the middle is a crucial step for the Pope Country to gain a foothold.

Rows of long tables formed a circle surrounding the wooden platform for speeches, with wild cats crouching under the tables, chasing sparrows erratically.

Guided by attendants and low-ranking monks, Grosien wandered aimlessly through the crowd until he heard a familiar voice.

"Here, here!"

Grosien immediately recognized his cousin, who had arrived early and secured a spot for him.

Grosien's cousin was from a manor near Joan of Arc Castle and was familiar with the place, allowing him to arrive early.

Arriving early meant their seats were relatively forward, at least allowing them to see Horn's face clearly.

As for those seated further back, Grosien estimated they were about 20 meters from the platform and likely unable to hear anything.

The late-arriving other representatives had no choice but to sit at the outermost positions.

Some cursed and grumbled about not being able to hear, while others enjoyed the leisure, some even dozing off.

Grosien curiously touched this and that, as it was his first time attending such a meeting.

Especially the priests in woolen robes on stage, standing motionless at the four corners of the wooden platform, doing who knows what.

Grosien whispered, "Cousin, what are those priests doing?"

"That's the Natural Priest, who can use the unique blessing Divine Art of the Saint Father Order. You'll see soon enough, it's quite marvelous."

Grosien didn't have to wait long for Horn to arrive.

He wore a simple half-cape cleric robe, holding a small booklet, and leisurely walked up to the wooden platform.

Standing beside a high slant desk, Horn placed the booklet on the desk.

"Silence!"

The Black Hat Army present raised their guns and fired pellets into the air, the piercing sound immediately quieting the previously noisy crowd.

After all, many had witnessed battles between the Holy Gun Cavalry and the knights and were familiar with the power of clockwork guns.

At this moment, the four priests simultaneously raised their arms, hands cupped in semicircles, beside their faces.

"Ladies and gentlemen..."

Horn began speaking, and Grosien was taken aback, as the voice seemed to resonate as though it was speaking directly into his ear.

This was astonishing! Grosien widened his eyes—is this the Divine Art of those priests?

On stage, after a brief introduction and opening remarks, Horn went straight to the point.

"I know you all must feel anxious, wondering why we summoned you here?

But please don't panic, we mean no harm, compared to the nobles and bishops, we are truly on your side.

Our enemies are the church and nobles of Thousand River Valley, unrelated to you, unless you have some involvement with them."

After Horn said this, it was evident that most in the audience breathed a sigh of relief, although a small portion grew even more nervous.

Ignoring the crowd's response below, Horn began to explain the origins of the Salvation Army to those present.

The main story is that Horn was devout since childhood and was chosen by the Holy Father and Saint Master, who silently watched over him.

During Knight Barnett's rampage, he courageously stood up to stop him.

Even though he was beheaded, he was chosen by the Holy Father and Saint Master, and the Holy Father personally possessed him to bring him back to life.

Later, Horn used himself as bait to expose Barnett's true nature, suddenly realizing that demons had long invaded the mortal world.

Only then he understood that the Holy Father revived him to grant him the task of eradicating demons.

This led to the subsequent battles like the Battle of Gulag, the long blood-stained road, the bloodbath at Joan of Arc Castle, and others.

No matter the time, His Holiness the Pope never thought of fleeing and instead stood firmly with the believers.

Thus, the rumors of His Holiness initiating a coup and contacting the Secret Faction to escape are pure fabrications!

It must be said, Horn's tale has indeed persuaded many, including Grosien, who listened with great interest.

However, most people aren't interested, and representatives in front of Grosien have even fallen asleep.

After explaining the legitimacy of his position and past deeds, Horn shifted the topic to the current situation in the Thousand River Valley.

"...Currently, in the west of Thousand River Valley, citizens of Rapids City are uprising, occupying most of Lower Reif County.

In the north, Duke Hemashi of Cold Spring Castle is uprising, with various mountain territories responding.

The Leia Kingdom is in civil war, and Great Monarchs of Norn Kingdom are willing to help us gain independence.

You have been bullied by the Imperial People, and the Leia People for so many years, have you ever thought about being free from such bullying one day?"

In this era of widespread rural areas, the lack of information is unimaginable.

Many representatives weren't even aware of the nearby uprising in Rapids City, let alone the uprising further north at Cold Spring Castle.

This explosive news quickly detonated among the representatives, spreading as ripples formed of whispers.

The Salvation Army was merely a lone force, with only ten percent confidence; having allied forces increased confidence to thirty percent.

If supported by the Norn people, their confidence could leap to seventy percent.

After all, they themselves know their power is too weak, and without foreign support, independence would be difficult.

If this is the case, perhaps following the Salvation Army might indeed have a chance of success?

Horn's words began to change the atmosphere in the venue.

They began questioning the authenticity of the news and imagining what independence could look like for them.

Indeed, if the Thousand River Valley could become independent, life would become much better for them.

The legend of the Thousand River Valley People's Chosen Pope is the embodiment of this aspiration in their hearts.

Horn seized the moment: "Have you ever thought about a question?

Our enemies were the nobles and bishops, now they're all dead, who will govern our lands?

In the past, governance relied on nobles and bishops, now who will help us deliver it?"

The representative dozing in front of Grosien suddenly stood upright, intensely staring at the stage.

Not just him, many representatives are now breathing heavily.

Indeed, Master Knight is dead, but if the Salvation Army says who is the master, doesn't that mean that person becomes the master?

Wow! The master is dead, so now I get to be the master!

Some even left their seats, mingling around to verify the news.

Only when the Night Watchers wielding T-shaped sticks advanced did these wandering representatives return to their seats.

Once the uproar subsided, facing everyone's attentive and expectant gaze, Horn continued with a smile: "In the upcoming period, we will conduct reforms in the Hundred Households District.

We plan to transform manors into Hundred Households Districts, with each district assigned a Hundred Households Captain and a Hundred Households Cultivator."

Transforming manors into a Hundred Households District means the Hundred Households Captain becomes a knight, and the Hundred Households Cultivator naturally equals a Wandering Priest!

If His Holiness is saying this here, it means they're preparing to select from these representatives?

Their hands and feet began to tremble, both excited and fearful, while those with lively minds secretly bribed the Defensive Army to gather intel.

They just hadn't considered that the power source for knights to control manors was their own extraordinary martial force.

If these commoners or city folk become Hundred Households Captains, their power would rely on the Salvation Army's extraordinary martial force.

In other words, whenever Horn desires, when the time is ripe, he can effortlessly strip them of their positions, as easily as urinating.

In the end, their choice becomes to either shape themselves in Horn's image or lose their positions.

"It's almost noon, everyone's probably hungry, and I'm actually hungry too." Horn said with a smile, tapping his belly, prompting the representatives to laugh despite whether sincere or not.

"Let's eat first, after lunch we'll discuss the matters of Hundred Households Captains.

We've prepared a free lunch for everyone, and after eating, someone will post and read aloud the first edict of the Pope Country.

That will be our topic for the afternoon meeting!"

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