[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-holy-church-begins-with-bestowal-of-blessing":3,"chapter-the-holy-church-begins-with-bestowal-of-blessing-the-holy-church-begins-with-bestowal-of-blessing-chapter-79":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","The Holy Church Begins with Bestowal of Blessings",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1688902,2156,"Chapter 79 : Cremation","the-holy-church-begins-with-bestowal-of-blessing-chapter-79",79,"\u003Cp>Chapter 79: Cremation\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Morning Star rose above the village massacred by werewolves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hode’s squad was carrying out post-battle cleanup.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were disposing of the corpses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Are we going to cremate them?\" Marl asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because everything in the territory belonged to the lord, including the land.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Burial required the lord’s permission, or it would be considered an infringement on the lord’s property, punishable by death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, when the lord delegated burial rights to the villages, the authority became somewhat distorted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not only did one have to pay taxes, but they also had to pay the village administrator enough money to be allowed a burial.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although the Church had cemeteries where the dead could be buried.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That also cost money, and the distance from home was too far; if a commoner left the village to invite a priest, something might happen on the road.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Therefore, when one truly had no money to buy land, cremation became the only option.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes, we don't have the means to bury them now. We have other tasks to do,\" Hode said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But, did you find your father's body?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No, we searched the entire village and didn’t find his corpse or any trace of him,\" Marl said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Maybe he escaped,\" Hode offered a bit of comfort.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Marl shook his head and said, \"I counted. We only found two hundred and forty-two bodies here, but there should have been over three hundred and fifty people before the werewolf attack.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As a local, Marl knew the situation of the village better.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Maybe they ran away,\" Hode said, though it was merely to console Marl.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Facing the werewolves—natural-born hunters—being able to have ten people escape would already be considered lucky. Nearly a hundred missing was definitely suspicious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hode kept this information in mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Perhaps,\" Marl clearly didn’t believe it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Flames rose.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After offering a round of prayers, Hode and his group headed to the Hayes Family's stronghold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon arrival, Hode understood why the Hayes Family’s base was built outside the village.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though it was called a base, it could already be considered a fortress.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The former lord did not allow them to build stone walls, so they laid a stone foundation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Above ground, they constructed triple layers of hardwood to form a wall, coated the exterior with clay, and once it dried and hardened, it looked like fortress walls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The inner buildings leaned against the mountain, as if embedded into it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hode’s group had come from knightly families, but even those families dared not build such a \"manor\" in their own fiefs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No wonder the knights were ordered to suppress them,\" Hode said as he looked at this \"manor.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As a vassal to the lord, this was already overstepping authority.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What use is building it so well? It’ll still fall to knights,\" Marl said with resentment after arriving.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The main gate opened normally from the inside, and not far to the right of the gate was a broken ladder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without siege equipment, the thick walls were indeed hard to breach.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But knights could simply climb the ladder and breach from the inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With no knights in the family, even a fortress-looking stronghold like this couldn’t withstand an army led by knights.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But things changed once the family produced a knight,\" Hode said, signaling Marl to follow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hah, the Hayes Family couldn’t produce a knight in another hundred years.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Of course, because all their heads have been left to dry outside the town.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without the lord's order, no one dared to take down those heads.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Alright, Marl, we're entering the fortress now. Be careful,\" Hode warned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes, sir. I will guide you,\" Marl said, suppressing his bitterness and bowing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was very familiar with the fortress and would help Hode’s team look for clues about the werewolves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the walls were traces of war’s devastation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There were a few buildings and small tents, and an extinguished forge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At a glance, it looked like thirty to forty people could live here permanently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a corner lay a few uncollected corpses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A foul stench wafted from them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After searching the buildings, they found nothing except for a few corpses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The group eventually stopped outside the main hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This is the Hayes Family’s main hall,\" Marl whispered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But only half of it is outside. The other half is carved into the mountain.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It was excavated from the mountain, and that’s the true core of the Hayes Family’s stronghold.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You’ve been inside?\" Hode asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to Marl, there was only one entrance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That place is extremely sealed. I couldn’t enter,\" Marl said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Even direct descendants of the Hayes Family wouldn't live there for long.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The Hayes Family also had a house in the village.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Of course, they wouldn’t live in that house either.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the end, Marl’s tone was heavy and resentful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hode led the team into the hall, where tables and chairs were in disarray, and wooden debris littered the floor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Over there,\" Marl pointed to a stone sculpture in a corner.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the entrance, it looked like just a protruding decorative sculpture.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But following Marl’s lead around the back revealed a narrow passage fit for only one person.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Looks like we’ve found a clue,\" Hode said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He could smell a faint stench—not that of corpses, but the same bloody stench he’d smelled on captured werewolves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There were also shed hairs in the passage, similar to those on the captured werewolf.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Peeking slightly into the passage, he could vaguely hear snoring.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hode gestured for the others to retreat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once outside the manor, Hode asked:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Marl, do you know the interior layout?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Only from what I’ve heard here,\" Marl replied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"There are two areas inside—one for direct descendants and one storage room.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But overall, it’s not very large. Even eight people living inside would feel cramped.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"After all, it’s the Hayes Family. They couldn’t have hollowed out an entire mountain.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So the worst-case scenario is eight werewolves inside?\" Hode said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Are we reporting to the lord?\" Marl asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Counting himself—a sixteen-year-old—they only had five people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If we report to the lord now, the army won’t arrive until the day after tomorrow,\" Hode said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"By then, the werewolves might have escaped.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Their noses are very keen. They might’ve already sensed us.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It’s only because it’s daytime—they avoid sunlight. They are dark creatures active at night.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So, what do you mean to do?\" Marl looked at Hode.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From Hode’s words, he didn’t hear any intention of leaving.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Is the mountain sealed?\" Hode asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Of course. That’s how they keep people from entering the treasure storage,\" Marl said, voice growing excited.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Sir, are you thinking of burning them inside?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Marl had guessed Hode’s plan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But that’s very dangerous.\" Hode looked at Marl.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Of course it is. But please, let me help,\" Marl pleaded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing the resolve in his eyes, Hode knew that even if he refused, Marl wouldn’t back down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Fine. But when the real battle starts, you must run immediately—head for the town,\" Hode said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I promise you, sir,\" Marl replied with a smile.\u003C\u002Fp>",1169,"2026-06-06T13:52:13.932Z",1,"novelbin.me","e7ff33a347203354412ecc608cecd851903cbdfd67558e7b58db8d4e3ddd1820","the-holy-church-begins-with-bestowal-of-blessing-chapter-80","the-holy-church-begins-with-bestowal-of-blessing-chapter-78",373,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-holy-church-begins-with-bestowal-of-blessing-cover.jpg"]