Chapter 323: Definitely a Good Thing!

"Because the news came so suddenly, the tea and snacks are still being prepared!"

"My lords, please take your seats first; I will go arrange and urge them immediately!"

Inviting the group into the living room, Gervas excused himself.

Naturally, no one had anything to say against this.

Seeing the situation, Mil suddenly said, "Lords, please sit for a moment; I need to use the restroom!"

Soon, Gervas and Mil met at the corner at the end of the corridor.

"Mil, you just signaled me with your eyes; is there something you want to say?"

"Gervas, you still don't know what Ma Xieer and the Steward Brandon have come for, do you?"

Gervas blinked. "Yes, Mil, I truly do not know. However, do you perhaps know what they intend to do in Stormhold?"

"Gervas, I certainly do. This is also the reason why I, Ian, and the others came to Stormhold!"

Speaking of this, Michel sighed. "Alas, Gervas, Magistrate Ma Xieer has brought the King's decree, which permits the Church of Light to select five plots of land in the Southern Region to build five temples!"

"The Church of Light may freely choose these lands; any land not currently in use by local lords may serve as a site for temple construction!"

"And this time, Steward Brandon has come to Stormhold specifically to select a possible location for a temple!"

"Selecting land to build a temple? On my territory? This... is it real or a joke?" Gervas widened his eyes in shock.

"Of course it is real, Viscount Gervas. Previously, Magistrate Ma Xieer, accompanied by Steward Brandon, already inspected our territory!"

"However, our territory is too small, and the Church's people were not satisfied, so they continued all the way to Stormhold!"

"By the way, just now when passing through Wheatfield Town, I noticed several priests nodding and whispering something. So, Gervas, you had better make some arrangements shortly!"

"For instance, hide some of the serfs as quickly as possible to create the illusion of a sparse population, then bribe Magistrate Ma Xieer to speak well of you and persuade the Church's people to go to other territories!"

"Hide the serfs? Bribe Ma Xieer? Persuade them to go elsewhere? Why?" Gervas paused, then asked in return.

"Of course, to prevent a temple from being built on your territory!" Mil was surprised that Gervas didn't even understand this.

However, what Mil least expected was that Gervas immediately replied, "Why prevent a temple from being built on my territory? Building a temple on one's territory isn't that good?"

Good heavens! Mil exclaimed, "Good heavens!"

He even began to suspect he had misheard.

Ask yourself: would any noble truly consider building a temple on their own territory a good thing?

"Mil, my servant has arrived. Thank you for the information; I must enter the living room now!" Just then, a servant carrying a tray of tea and snacks from the other end of the corridor was walking toward the living room. Seeing this, Gervas thanked Mil and hurried toward the living room door.

"Gervas, you..." Mil wanted to say something, but Gervas had already reached the living room entrance.

"Could it be that Gervas has never heard of the Church of Light before?"

Mil's expression shifted uneasily.

Once the tea and snacks were served, Gervas got to the point.

"Magistrate Ma Xieer, Steward Brandon, you have traveled far to come to Stormhold. Is there something specific you wish to discuss?"

Ma Xieer glanced at Steward Brandon, noticing that the other man had no intention of speaking.

He took out the King's decree he had prepared long ago from his robe, handed it to Gervas, and said, "My Lord Gervas, just eight days ago, Your Majesty issued this decree."

"It specially authorizes the Church of Light to select five locations in the Southern Region to build temples. As for the reason, I believe Viscount Gervas should know: the raids by dark creatures are becoming increasingly severe."

"Therefore, only by building temples of Light can we curb the growth and ravages of dark creatures!"

"And the reason I accompanied Steward Brandon to Stormhold this time is precisely for this matter!"

"Oh? So, you are preparing to select land in Stormhold to build a temple?"

Shock, disbelief... Hmm, why does he look a bit pleasantly surprised?

Could I be seeing things?

Taking in Gervas's expression once again, Ma Xieer felt a slight doubt.

However, this did not hinder him.

"Yes, Viscount Gervas. Our arrival in Stormhold is for this very matter! Moreover, this is a direct order from Your Majesty, so noble lords are not permitted to object. I hope Your Lordship understands."

Pausing for a moment, worried that Gervas might still object, Ma Xieer continued to add.

"Viscount Gervas, I will speak plainly: the attack on Viscount Pa Ke's Castle and the attack on the Japas caravan both occurred near Stormhold. Therefore, for Stormhold, building a temple of Light is actually a good thing!"

"Furthermore, there is something you probably do not know: regarding those two attacks by dark creatures, the Church of Light had actually foreseen them in advance..."

Afterwards, Ma Xieer recounted the specific details of the prophesied events.

Originally, not many people knew of this matter.

But under the Church's deliberate promotion, more and more people have come to know.

Ma Xieer himself had learned this from a messenger sent from the Capital.

"They predicted it again in advance, and it actually came true!"

Although Mil and the others were not fond of the Church of Light, upon hearing this news, shock appeared in their eyes.

They had long heard rumors that the Church of Light could make prophecies.

And since this time it happened right in their vicinity, they were certainly even more shocked.

As for whether this might be fake, no one among them would doubt it.

Although Ma Xieer clearly wanted to curry favor with Steward Brandon,

if he dared to spread rumors, especially ones involving the Civil Affairs Office of the Capital, he would not dare even if given a hundred guts.

As for Gervas, although he also showed disbelief on his face, he inwardly exclaimed, "Good heavens!"

Were the two attacks really foreseen by the Church?

But the problem is, those were clearly creatures I lured and had them dealt with, weren't they?

Moreover, can that so-called Holy Maiden really predict the number of dark creatures accurately?

Gervas always felt there was something fishy about it.

Especially since the earlier intelligence had stated that the arrival of these dark creatures was man-made!

And now, the ones reaping the benefits seemed to be the Church of Light.

Of course, the more suspicious it was, the more Gervas kept a straight face.

"Well, Viscount Gervas, do you think I'm right? Is the construction of the temple a good thing for our Southern Region, for your Storm Domain?" Seeing that Gervas had not responded for a long time, Ma Xieer could not help but press further.

"Right! Magistrate Ma Xieer, you are absolutely correct! This temple is nothing short of a stroke of luck for our Southern Region, for my Storm Domain!" Gervas came to his senses, slapped the armrest of the sofa, and jumped up in excitement right on the spot.

"Uh..."

Everyone had imagined Gervas's concerns, but no matter what, no one had expected Gervas to jump up like this to show his welcome!

"Ahem! Your Excellency Gervas, do you really think it is a good thing too?" Ma Xieer almost suspected he was dreaming.

Although nobles had previously forced smiles to express approval, none had ever been quite like Viscount Gervas.