After nearly a century of peace, the Papal States once again raised arms for war.
As the saying goes, wartime truly reveals whether a nation is strong or not, and this statement couldn't be more accurate.
With the issuance of His Holiness Adam's papal bull, no matter how many people considered his actions unreasonable, the entire Papal States mobilized instantly from top to bottom.
Missionaries and Church Knights collaborated closely, frantically capturing the poor for military conscription in major cities while extorting money from the wealthy. Although many lined their own pockets in the process, regardless, the machinery had been set in motion—countless riches flowed toward the Vatican, and countless poor people were forcibly marched to the battlefield.
Since His Holiness Adam had designated this campaign as a war of attrition, they didn't deploy many Church Knights, the true military strength of the Papal States, sending only a small portion of Church Knights and missionaries to the frontlines to oversee the poor's charges.
In contrast, the Boar Empire, which practiced a feudal lord system, and other nations were completely different.
Following the Papal States' declaration of war, the King of the Boar Empire waved his hand and sent conscription requests to the various lords.
Yes, requests.
Although he was called King, the Boar King didn't possess complete control over his subordinate lords. Even though this was an external war, some lords still ignored him as they always had.
Not only did the major lords ignore him, but minor lords disregarded him as well."My subordinate's subordinate is not my subordinate"—this was no joking matter.
To ensure troop deployment and resist the Papal States, the Boar Empire and surrounding feudal kingdoms had to offer benefits to attract the lords' contributions.
But this fully demonstrated the vast differences between their systems.
Rino City remained chaotic. Wars couldn't be fought in a single day, and even pre-war preparations would take at least a month or more.
Church Knights still needed to capture the poor and confiscate wealth, which significantly prolonged the Papal States' preparation time and made Rino City even more disordered.
And this chaos presented an excellent opportunity for anyone with ill intentions.
Inside Rino City's church, in the outermost room at the very top of the castle walls.
After His Holiness the Pope issued the papal bull, Bishop Doxia had relocated his residence to this location.
From this room, one could see most of Rino City through the windows.
Bishop Doxia stood by the window observing the chaos within Rino City. After a long while, he finally let out a soft sigh.
"The Pope has led the Church down a path of no return!"
Bishop Doxia's face was full of sorrow.
Since the Pope began conscription, various curses and gossip criticizing the Church had multiplied, and the Church's image was gradually shifting from positive to negative. This ran completely counter to Bishop Doxia's consistent advocacy.
Perhaps the consequences weren't apparent now because the Vatican remained powerful, but once the Vatican showed weakness, those swarming forward would surely tear the Church apart, potentially even severing its legacy!
Bishop Doxia was an orphan—the Church that raised him was his everything.
His greatest dream was to be selected as a sacrifice for the Vatican's Ascension Ceremony in his old age, letting flames purify his pure heart so he could ascend to heaven and serve by God's side.
Therefore, the Church's continuation was his everything!
The Boar Empire's war intentions had stalled recently not because of internal issues, but because Bishop Doxia hadn't defected as expected, making the Boar King suspect a trap. Consequently, the five hundred Holy Knights hadn't been annihilated either.
The reason Bishop Doxia hadn't defected earlier was that the Papal States were still in a period of peace and prosperity at that time, with countless nobility, wealthy individuals, and even the poor still faithfully following the Vatican. His defection then wouldn't have cleansed the Church's reputation but would have made him a typical example for the Vatican to control.
But now things were different. The Pope had become stubborn and self-righteous, imposing tyrannical rule that caused the Vatican to lose the people's trust and severely damaged the Church's reputation, showing signs of stigmatizing the Church.
If he, Bishop Doxia, were to defect now, raising banners proclaiming that the Church should remain holy and not control politics, and that God's mercy shouldn't involve waging war, then people from all social classes dissatisfied with the Pope's decrees would undoubtedly regard his ideology as their guiding principle.
Even if Bishop Doxia were to die for this cause, he could use his life to cleanse some of the Church's stigma, letting people understand the true holiness of the Church. Perhaps this could preserve the spark of evangelism for when the Vatican faced destruction in the future. If he miraculously survived and actually overthrew the Vatican, then the Church could undergo genuine reform and establish a foundation lasting ten thousand generations!
Therefore.
"The time has come!" Bishop Doxia withdrew his gaze from Rino City and spoke to his personal attendant beside him: "Go summon Bishop Good and Priest Abraham."
No sooner had he spoken than the Church Knights guarding the door announced:
"Your Excellency Bishop Doxia, Bishop Good and Priest Abraham request an audience!"
"Oh? How timely! Let them in." Bishop Doxia showed slight surprise but then waved his hand, dismissing his personal attendant.
Bishop Doxia returned to his seat, awaiting the two men's arrival.
Meanwhile, outside.
Watching the personal attendant emerge from Bishop Doxia's room and the two Church Knights guarding the door, Bishop Good lowered his head and stepped forward, instructing Bishop Doxia's attendant: "By the Pope's holy decree, with war beginning, to seek God's protection and proclaim the Church's glory, all cities must hold grand ceremonies to boost morale! Please take them to bathe and change clothes as well. The ceremony will begin soon, so please arrive on time."
"A ceremony? Very well, that's appropriate." Bishop Doxia's attendant showed some confusion but then nodded understandingly.
Holding ceremonies before war was normal. It was said that nearly a century ago, when the old Pope waged war against the Boar Empire, he first held nationwide ceremonies to boost morale.
Thinking this, the attendant called the two Church Knights and headed toward the church's bathing area.
Indeed, in this fantastical medieval European world where even building toilets was considered bothersome, the Church actually maintained bathing facilities.
And quite well-constructed ones at that.
Because the Church needed to conduct ceremonies, which required bathing, changing clothes, and even enemas to achieve complete physical and spiritual purity before facing God's glory.
"Tap, tap..."
Leisurely footsteps echoed in the bathing chamber.
The bathing room floor was slippery, producing tapping sounds with each step.
The two Church Knights showed no suspicion as they stood in the changing area removing their full steel armor, remaining completely silent throughout.
But the leading attendant felt somewhat puzzled.
While undressing, he observed the bathing chamber's interior, feeling that compared to usual, the place seemed different today.
Those religious symbols and decorations had been removed at some point, making the originally solemn and dignified bathing place feel somewhat emptier.
Moreover, although Bishop Good said they needed to bathe and change for the ceremony, at this moment, the place remained completely empty of people. Had they arrived late, and everyone else had already finished bathing?
The attendant felt somewhat displeased. He usually bathed in private facilities—why wasn't anyone here to receive them this time?
But considering they might indeed be running late, the attendant suppressed his anger. After stripping off his clothes, he headed toward the bathhouse behind the curtain.
"Swish!" As the curtain was drawn aside, the bathhouse interior revealed itself to the three men.
The Papal States had no concept of privacy rights, so their so-called bathing consisted of a large pool that could fit twenty people bathing together.
Contrary to expectations of finding only an empty bathhouse with dirty water remaining, the pool was actually densely packed with church personnel soaking in the water.
However, they all had their backs to the entrance and showed no movement or sound, creating not a lively atmosphere but rather an eerie, unsettling discomfort.
The attendant frowned slightly, for some reason suddenly feeling a sense of foreboding.
The next moment, the church personnel soaking in the bathhouse simultaneously turned their bodies.
Pairs of either crimson or turbid eyes fixed intently on the three naked men at the bathhouse entrance.
"Hiss..." The attendant gasped sharply.
But the next moment, over a dozen ferocious figures surged from the water, charging madly toward the three men at the entrance.
"Haaa..."
Terrifying roars echoed through the bathhouse.