Chapter 326: I Need the Church of Light

"Lord Brandon, perhaps Swan Lake isn't suitable either. How about I take you to Wheatfragrant Village? That area originally belonged to Baron Cain's domain!"

"It's far from the Death Mountains, so no more beasts will appear there. Plus, it's close to the Royal Highway—even without sea transport, the highway ensures decent travel access!"

Gervas was clearly relentless in his pursuit of building the Temple of Light.

He immediately offered a new proposal.

Brandon had nothing to say.

Moreover, he himself had originally considered Stormhold the most suitable location among the possible temple sites.

First, Stormhold was the only viscount's domain in the southeastern border.

Second, its population was the largest in the southeastern border, and many refugees came here to trade!

"Fine, but Lord Gervas, could we rest for a moment? The recent escape was exhausting." Brandon felt mentally drained and wanted to pause.

"No problem, Lord Brandon!"

Gervas immediately beamed and promptly summoned the servants from the caravan to bring water and towels.

"Viscount Gervas!"

At that moment, Mill found Gervas again and subtly signaled him with his eyes.

After signaling, Mill walked toward a nearby stream.

Seeing this, Gervas immediately said, "Lord Brandon, I'll go relieve myself—excuse me for a moment!"

Brandon had no objection, and Gervas soon joined Mill by the stream.

Watching Gervas's retreating back, Marshal, the civil administrator, grew thoughtful.

He had observed every movement between Gervas and Mill.

He had been secretly studying Gervas since the beginning—this viscount gave him an utterly unusual feeling.

And now, after Mill's signal, Gervas had again used the excuse of going to the toilet.

This reminded Marshal of when they first arrived at the castle, when Gervas and Mill had performed the same maneuver.

These two men must be hiding something!

Marshal immediately waved over his personal servant and whispered a few instructions in his ear.

After speaking, he called out loudly, "Go on, clean my boots by the river!"

……

"Mill, what's wrong?" By the stream, hidden behind trees, Gervas spoke directly.

Mill's expression was complex. "Gervas, didn't you ever learn about the Church of Light?"

Gervas blinked. "The Church of Light? Of course I've heard of it!"

"The Church of Light rose to prominence by exterminating dark creatures. Rumor has it that bloodthirsty dark beings flee at the sight of its priests."

"More importantly, the Church of Light possesses powerful Light Knights—something no other church can match!"

After hearing this, Mill immediately suspected Gervas truly didn't understand the Church's threat.

"Gervas, what you've said would be sufficient for an ordinary commoner—or even a noble of honor."

"But for a lord, it's not nearly enough."

"How so?" Gervas looked puzzled.

Mill glanced around, confirmed no one was nearby, then whispered, "Because the Church of Light is the greatest threat to noble rule!"

"If not for the dark creatures, and if the Church of Light hadn't later gained such immense power, the kingdom would never have allowed them to build temples within its borders!"

"This…" Gervas looked as if he'd heard this for the first time, incredulous.

"Gervas, let me tell you why—churches most love to incite commoners and serfs…"

Then Mill explained to Gervas how the Church normally spread its faith.

Like most missionaries, they began by offering free aid to serfs and commoners.

For example, distributing food regularly, helping treat illnesses.

In short, they presented themselves as compassionate toward every impoverished serf.

The effect was predictable.

Serfs, who had never been treated kindly and often suffered exploitation from their lords, immediately fell under the Church's spell.

Then, they began truly sowing faith.

As faith spread wider and wider, it swept across noble domains.

By then, nobles realized the danger too late to respond.

Because the serfs, now deeply immersed, had united as one and no longer feared their lords.

Even if nobles used bloody suppression, it would only force the entire domain's serfs into rebellion.

At that point, the Church would step forward, siding with the believers.

Accusing nobles of cruelty, mobilizing Light Knights to intimidate, demanding nobles cease their bloody suppression.

At that moment, nobles had only two choices: either hold firm and be secretly undermined by the Church's agents, who would dismantle the guard units.

Then the noble himself would be killed by rebelling serfs, his body hung from the castle walls.

Or choose to appease—serfs would return to farming, the lord would remain lord.

But from then on, the lord could only collect taxes, helplessly watching serfs flock daily to the Temple of Light.

As for further exploitation? If you're not afraid of another serf uprising, go ahead and try.

As for whether the king would intervene? If it was the first scenario, the king would certainly make a statement.

Then the Church would hand over a few ringleaders for execution, and that would be the end of it.

After all, the Church's tens of thousands of Light Knights were no mere decoration.

Moreover, the kingdom still relied on the Church of Light to purge the dark creatures that kept emerging.

"So it's like this!" Gervas frowned after hearing this.

"Gervas, now you understand the danger of the Church of Light, right?"

"So, don't let them build a temple on your land! Later, pick some poor, undesirable area—preferably one that makes Brother Brandon reject Stormhold as the temple site!"

"And with those two previous incidents, I think the chance of success is very high!" Mill suggested.

Gervas was deeply moved. "Mill, thank you for your concern!"

"Gervas, no need to thank us—we signed a mutual defense pact, so we can't just stand by while Stormhold is in danger."

Hearing this, Gervas opened his mouth but hesitated.

"What is it, Gervas? Do you have something else to say?"

"Mill, I appreciate your kindness—but I still want the temple built in my Stormhold."

"What… why? Gervas, you now know the Church's danger…" Mill froze in place.

Gervas looked around, confirmed no one was near, then said solemnly: "Mill, because my domain is extremely dangerous—I need the Church's Light Knights to help me defend against threats!"

"You saw the fishmen and beasts just now, right? Honestly, I lied to you—they're not the first to appear!"

"They've appeared many times before!"

"Sigh, I used to think Stormhold's name—Land of Death—was just a superstition held by cowardly nobles."

"I thought the three barons who died here were just unlucky coincidences."

"And I, Gervas, have always been lucky—I'd never suffer their fate!"

"But… but Mill… I overestimated myself and underestimated Stormhold's danger!"

"Earlier, luck held—the fishmen were few, the beasts were low-level."

"But who knows how many will come next, or how strong the beasts will become?"

"So I truly need the Church's help—they must protect me from beasts and alien attacks!"