Quick Wear: Random Cheats

Chapter 100: The Burned Earl Witch (12)

Kingdom of Aisen, the royal palace council hall.

The parliamentary group consisting of King Eisen IV, three princes, the kingdom's chief consul, General Coleman, and four dukes, rarely gets together to discuss matters.

What people are talking about is naturally the frequent appearance of witches.

"That shouldn't be the case. Although I've encountered some powerful witches before, they were either able to use some poison or were very strong. The number of those who could actually escape and not be found was quite rare.

It’s strange, it’s really strange.”

Duke Harman was a little hard to understand. He had seen some powerful witches who had successfully escaped from the stake, but he had never seen one who could fly and set fire.

He even killed more than a thousand paladins.

Even if it is an organization, it is quite exaggerated.

Duke Wilson, who was sitting on his left, also nodded in agreement: "As far as I know, during the three years of the witch hunt, less than twenty paladins died in total.

Half of them were assassinated.

The witch killed four people head-on.

"Now, with over a thousand dead, even during the Holy War, this was a huge loss of life. Could it be that the Pope who proposed hunting witches received an oracle from the God of Light, and that he wasn't hunting down those powerless witches, but witches like these who can fly and wield fire?"

“Some things have been confirmed now.

First of all, there was not just one witch attacking this time. The exact number is unknown, but there must have been three or five, because someone had witnessed three witches attacking together, while previously only one witch had attacked.

The three witches were the ones who took action recently.

The cause is currently unknown.”

Chief Consul Engels ignored the interfering information and summarized it based on the information he had collected and which had now been thoroughly confirmed to be true:

"Secondly, these witches can fly and control fire. Someone even witnessed a witch sending down a large amount of water to extinguish the fire on the stake. Another witch waved green light from her hands and healed the legs of a witch whose lower body was burned.

So they can also move water and healing energy.

Or it can also be called life energy.

To be disrespectful, it is not an exaggeration to say that these abilities are miracles. No one in the current Church of Light, including the Pope, can perform such miracles. I have also never seen any miracles of the Church comparable to these.

Even if it exists, it has only appeared in ancient books.

It appeared hundreds or thousands of years ago!"

After hearing this, everyone present fell silent, because for them, the miracles of the God of Light had only appeared in past books and legends, and they had never witnessed them with their own eyes. The Pope had never performed any miracles, and some even died in their sixties.

They even called it the gods' urgent need to summon him.

They were quite clear about these situations, so they naturally thought that what the Chief Consul said was correct. Compared to the mediocre Holy See, which had not produced any reliable miracles for many years, these witches were more like those favored by God.

“I felt unreliable many years ago.

There were plagues, and they were thought to be caused by witches—fine, I could accept that. But burning witches and those infected with the plague—how could that be justified?

If he really had the ability, shouldn't he be able to perform miracles?

Heal those who have the plague?

Besides, how could those witches who couldn't even escape the stake be capable of causing such a great plague? "

King Eisen IV also complained in dissatisfaction.

No king wanted to have an emperor above him. Some kings of powerful empires had even suppressed the Vatican on more than one occasion. While Aisen IV lacked the power to suppress the Vatican, he was undoubtedly dissatisfied with it. This was the perfect opportunity to take advantage of the loss of prestige for the Vatican of Light, giving him the courage to vent his discontent directly.

After that, they discussed a lot more.

For example, when witches were being hunted in large numbers before, why wasn't there a powerful witch to stop it?
Where did these witches come from?

Of course, in the end, the focus of their discussion was still on whether or not to help the Vatican suppress witches.

Or just sit back and watch, and do nothing.

"I think it's best to leave it alone. After all, the witches who died previously might not have been recognized as true witches by the Vatican, but the witches who appeared this time definitely meet the Vatican's definition of witches. Facing these witches who are comparable to gods, what can mortals like us do? Of course, the Pope and his divinely favored ones have to deal with them.

This is also a good opportunity to put pressure on the Holy See.

See if they can really perform miracles."

"That's right. To deal with demons like witches, of course, clergy like them have to step in. No matter how devout our faith is, we are only mortals. It's up to the priests and bishops to do it."

"I heard that more than twenty priests and bishops died."

"I also think we shouldn't worry about it. Judging from the current situation, even if the Church can successfully suppress the witches, it will inevitably suffer heavy losses. By then, we will definitely gain greater benefits. The premise is that we cannot send troops. If we do, the Church will definitely use our knights as cannon fodder, providing cover at the front.

As long as we don't send troops, our losses can be minimized, while the Holy See will inevitably suffer heavy losses.

It is equivalent to indirectly improving our strength.

The worst-case scenario is that the witches successfully defeat the Church and replace the Church. In that case, we won't suffer any loss.

And if those witches come to power.

I think they might not be as greedy as the Vatican!"

"Yes, those witches are actually mainly targeting the Vatican. After all, without the involvement of Vatican clergy, it is impossible to determine whether a person is a witch.

Although some of our knights were killed by mistake.

But they help the Holy See.

So at this point, it is in our best interest to avoid getting dragged into the dispute and not help either side."

"But I'm afraid the Vatican will force conscription!"

"Your Majesty will have to take the lead and help us withstand the pressure. If we can't, we can try to contact other neighboring countries and join forces to participate. That way, even if the Holy See of Light wins in the end, we won't have to worry about the Pope and his men bringing up old scores."

"I have a better idea. Your Majesty could send envoys to negotiate with the neighboring Kingdom of Tilly to start a war on the border. Both sides could mobilize more knights to the border. There's no need for real fighting; just pretend fighting once or twice a day would be enough. While it would cost money, it would give you a legitimate reason to refuse conscription."

Even if the Holy See of Light really won afterwards.

Even if you dig up old scores, you can’t bring yourself to bring them down here.”

"This is a good idea. It's probably the safest, but who's going to pay for the battle?"

"Ugh, my territory is suffering from poor harvest!"

"I'm on a fixed salary, so I don't have much money."

"You are the king, and the money will surely be paid through taxes. I don't think you need to worry too much about it."

Any noble or king who wasn't stupid could see such an obvious situation, so before the Holy See started recruiting soldiers from various kingdoms, they tacitly decided not to help. At the same time, they began to communicate with each other and make up excuses for not being able to recruit soldiers.

The Vatican is not aware of this yet.

They were anxiously discussing how to deal with these witches who suddenly appeared as if they had the help of demons.

The Pope knew very well that their success was built on miracles and faith. In the past few hundred years, without the miracles, they had barely been able to maintain their status by cooperating with the nobles to share taxes, fooling the people, and relying on a large army of paladins.

But now these witches appear.

The blow to their status was extremely fatal.

Because the abilities these witches displayed were almost identical to their foundations, they could all be called miracles. However, their miracles were already in the past, while the miracles these witches displayed were in the present, so it was no problem to call them heretical gods.

It is simply impossible for the two sides to coexist.

Without even investigating, the Pope knew that while the vast majority of the people were still relatively stable, the nobles were definitely wavering in their support. They desperately needed a victory to stabilize the people's hearts.

It would also make it easier for them to recruit troops from other kingdoms. Just as the nobles weren't stupid, the Church wasn't foolish either. They knew the nobles' true nature well: they were the kind of people who wouldn't help unless they saw a chance of victory.

Only seeing there is great hope of victory.

They will be willing to help.

And share the benefits after victory.

Therefore, the fundamental issue of negotiation at the Temple of Light is whether to win a battle at all costs and then recruit soldiers from other kingdoms, or to pretend to kill a woman and announce to the outside world that she is one of the demon witches, and still recruit soldiers from other kingdoms.

"I think we still have to win this battle. Not only will it stabilize the situation, but it will also allow us to successfully obtain a witch's body. We need to find a way to understand why they possess those strange abilities. It would be even better if we can seize it."

We who have successfully seized those abilities.

Only then can one be considered truly worthy of the name God's favored one."

"It's easy to say, but having been a cardinal for decades, you must have forgotten how we achieved our current status. The God of Light can only fool the common people, and the kings of other countries don't really believe him.

If our Paladin army suffers heavy losses.

Will they still be as obedient as they are now?

To successfully hunt down a true demonic fire witch, who knows how many paladins would have to be sacrificed. If too many paladins were sacrificed, how could we intimidate the kings of other countries and demand their obedience?

"Yes, when the Crusade to the East failed, we lost nearly 200,000 Paladins. The kings of various countries were so hypocritical that they pretended to obey the Pope. Many even refused the Pope's coronation and directly ascended the throne themselves.

Going back further, back when the Leo Empire was still standing, Leo I was even able to directly depose and enthronize the Pope. It's clear that relying solely on the prestige of the God of Light isn't enough to suppress the nobles and the king; sufficient military force is needed to intimidate them. I'm not afraid to say something that may sound outrageous, but I'd rather reconcile with the witch than cause the sacrifice of so many paladins. Absolutely not."

"How dare you say that? If we reconcile with the witches, how will the people of the world view us? What will happen to the faith in the God of Light? Not to mention that we have hunted so many witches in the past years. Are you sure those demonic witches are really willing to reconcile with us?"

"why not?
Others may not know whether those witches are witches, so how can we not know? I don't believe that those witches with magical powers would regard themselves as mortals and regard those we define as witches as the same.

The nobles did not feel that they were the same as the common people.

Not to mention witches with magical powers.

I guess the reason they took action was probably because they were dissatisfied with our demonization of witches, and dissatisfied with the fact that we defined a large number of women who had no ability to resist as witches, making them seem very weak, so they took action.

If only we would never hunt witches again.

I think there is still a possibility of peace talks."

“Pope, what they say makes sense.

Whenever we've encountered major events over the years, we've always mobilized troops from the major kingdoms. This is because we fear a repeat of the Holy War, where a large number of Paladins perished and the Vatican's ruling position became unstable. Therefore, when we're not sure we can successfully capture a witch with just a few Paladins, we must be cautious!

"I think it's not necessary to go through so much trouble. So far, those witches have never taken the initiative to attack. Every time they appear, it's because we want to burn a witch to death, regardless of whether she is a witch or not.

Anyway, we define her as a witch.

So is it possible that if we stop any actions against witches, those witches will stop taking action. Although the negative impact is still there, as long as those witches stop taking any action, we can still cover it up. At most, we can keep a low profile for the next few years.

After a few years, time will make people forget everything."

"If we had done this at the beginning, it might have been okay, but now thousands of paladins have died in our church. If we just give in, the negative impact will be too great. Besides, how are we going to explain it?

Could it be that we have reconciled with the witches?
Were we wrong to kill before? Was it all just a misunderstanding?"

"We can say that the witches who were rescued earlier were all innocent, which is why the messengers of the God of Light came forward to save them, and the church officials who mobilized the paladins to kill them were bewitched by the devil and fell into evil.

They have been severely punished and purified.

We previously fell into a misunderstanding, that is, why should we identify these people who have special abilities and rescue those who we define as witches as witches?
We can definitely define them as messengers of God.

As long as they don't object, this matter will not only be able to proceed smoothly, but it will also prove once again that the miracles of our Holy See of Light are real."

"That's... a good idea."

"Indeed, all we need to do is sacrifice a few of the archbishops directly responsible for this matter. They don't necessarily have to die. We can just have them fake their own deaths and withdraw. Then we can buy a few dozen acres of land somewhere and live a life of luxury."

“This is really the best way.”

"Now there's only one problem left. What if those witches stand up and refute us? So why not find a way to contact those witches first?

Negotiate with them and ask them not to talk back.

Even better if we can cooperate.

Although they may not necessarily object if we do this directly, I think it is safer and will allow for a smoother transition if we discuss it with them.

If I could really work with them.

It is also beneficial to our Vatican.

From now on we will no longer lack miracles.”

"But even if we wanted to negotiate with them, we couldn't find them. They only suddenly appear when we are about to purify the witches. After they appear, they don't say a word and only save people. If we fight back, they will kill our people."

"That's easy. Find a secluded place with no one around, pretend to burn witches again, then shout at them and see if you can get them to come down and talk."

"If we don't do this, then we can only bet that they won't stand up and refute us."

"I suggest a two-pronged approach. On the one hand, we should try to lure them out, and then discuss with them to see if we can reach a peace agreement. On the other hand, we should have all the bishops and priests jointly spread the word that the Pope has just received an oracle from the God of Light. Those who can fly are messengers of God, not witches, and those they rescue are all poor people who have been slandered as witches.

Just promote it according to what we just discussed.

Our Vatican's propaganda capabilities are far beyond what they can match. To be frank, even if they really stand up to refute, how many people can they tell, and how wide a range of influence can they have? At the very least, they are simply incomparable to us, don't you agree..."

"That's the truth!"

"Your Holiness, what do you think?"

Any force that has experienced the ups and downs of life knows that appropriate compromise, concessions, and changes are far more conducive to its own survival and development than being stubborn.

This is what Confucianism is.

They can become whatever the emperor likes.

No matter how the emperor likes to interpret it, they will try their best to distort the original meaning of the sages and change it in a direction that the emperor likes!

Only then can it prosper forever.

The Vatican has not always been prosperous over the past thousand years. It is inevitable that there have been declines and times of compromise. As long as they can maintain their status, compromise is not unacceptable to them.

So when someone suggested denying Ding Shui and the others' identities as witches, defining them as messengers of God, and vigorously promoting this as a way to reverse the unfavorable situation, the Pope, the other cardinals, and the cardinal all agreed that this was the best solution.

So of course this plan was adopted immediately.

Next, they mainly discussed how to make this plan more perfect so that the logic in all aspects can be successfully closed without too many loopholes.

Meanwhile, Ding Shui, who of course had no idea the Vatican would be so shameless, was selecting more rescued witches and transforming those she felt qualified into real witches. She was also teaching Harry and the others, who had already become witches, the latest plague treatment techniques they had developed.

They were on their way to save a witch from the stake.

I have seen plagues happening in many places, and out of emotion and compassion, I have tried to use wood-attribute witchcraft or water-attribute witchcraft to treat them, but the treatment effect is very poor and is far inferior to the treatment of burn scars.

So he went to ask Ding Shui for help.

Ding Shui thought about it and felt that if witches could eliminate the plague and save all living beings, it would refute the Vatican's fallacy that the plague was caused by witches. In addition, saving people was not a bad thing, so he developed a special plague treatment technique specifically for common plagues.

This is not single-attribute witchcraft.

Requires the combination of water and wood attributes.

It is rather complicated to perform and involves some microscopic levels. Even if Ding Shui can directly impart the relevant knowledge to them, they still need some time to become proficient.

It was not until three days of hard practice that they finally mastered the technique and immediately flew to the plague area to rescue people.