Ice Vapor Goddess

Chapter 72 The Salon (Part 2)

“He’s drunk,” Count Augures said calmly, placing his hand on the man’s shoulder. “Everyone is trying to help you, understand?”

The man trembled and lowered his head.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" the Count solemnly proclaimed, "The Church's hostility towards us is now crystal clear, and we have no choice but to fight back! Just like twenty years ago, we—will surely triumph!"

People cheered and applauded, delighted to have such an excellent leader.

"And who is our Queen Victoria?" someone asked. "Rayne Hoffman?"

“That is indeed the case,” said Count Augures.

“Uh…but…” someone suddenly interrupted, “I just received a message from Schneider saying that the governor intends to temporarily suspend the persecution of the church, and instead asks us to treat the workers well…”

The room fell silent, and everyone wore expressions of disbelief.

"My God!" Sir William cried, "What day is this that you would deceive us like this?"

“It’s true.” Mrs. Bradstone pulled an extremely precious magical pocket watch from her pocket. “I received one too.”

People were silent for a moment.

“This is truly one of the darkest days in history,” Lord Black murmured to himself.

“No—don’t worry.” It was Count Augures who stepped forward again. “I will put pressure on Schneider. Don’t forget, he hasn’t dared to tell the governor about the Evangelical Fellowship yet.”

People finally felt a little relieved.

As the propaganda minister, his efforts to spread the gospel among the common people were even less than those of the Gospel Council, which was an extremely serious dereliction of duty, so much so that he still doesn't dare to speak loudly.

"What about the governor's attitude?" Sir William asked worriedly. "What if he decides to join forces with the church?"

“No, he can’t live without us,” someone said, and many others nodded in agreement.

Raine can only manage Speyside with their help; otherwise, how can he govern such a large city with his illiterate soldiers?

So when the end of the world came, his first priority was to protect them and those highly educated intellectuals.

“Not only that—” Count Augures smiled, “he might ease his oppression of the Church, but he will never cooperate with the Church.”

"Why?" someone immediately asked.

The count smiled slightly. Whenever he spoke, someone always had to ask "why" to make it easier for him to continue.

“Because he’s ‘Thunder Fist’.” The count took a small sip of red wine.

"During the War of Glory, he was the bravest general under the Queen's command. The only person in a century with the talent of [Controlling Thunder] broke free from the clutches of the Church for the first time, fighting for justice and sweeping those corrupt old nobles into the dustbin of history."

"Unfortunately, the Battle of the Chilia Forest dealt him a heavy blow." The count looked nostalgic. "Ah... it was an autumn day. I was a staff officer under Marquis Cole at the time. We had driven a royalist army into a corner. Hoffman tried to steal the credit, so he led his 4th Infantry Regiment deep into the Chilia Forest."

"The army had only about 500 survivors who retreated into the forest. He led a thousand men from the Fourth Infantry Regiment in pursuit, and with him, a royal knight with the talent of thunder, it should have been a very smooth operation."

"Unfortunately, there was a priest among the remnants of the army."

"He gathered the rats hiding in the forest—those humanoid rats hiding in the forest, in burrows, and under leaf tents, as well as refugees and nearby villagers, and won their loyalty with just a cross."

“He said that God’s most beloved son, Charles XVII, was suffering, and that the terrifying Blue Banner army had burned the fertile land of Albion. They were going to fight for the king and for God.”

"Then the rats, who had no clothes, rushed toward the Fourth Infantry Regiment. They emerged from the woods, from the bushes, from the ground, from the trees... They beat people with sticks, teeth, and hands, and cruelly gouged out their eyes and intestines after killing them."

"Even when facing artillery fire, they were not afraid. They knelt down in front of the guns and cannons, holding crosses and praying. If they were not killed, it meant that God was protecting them. So they charged towards the position with shouts."

“That was the worst war ever—I’ve been through it many times, but this was the first time for Renne.”

"Later, he was defeated. He fought his way out alone, covered in blood, and collapsed as soon as he arrived at the military camp. He almost died."

Count Augures began to sing: "From then on, he dreamed of that day every time he had a dream, of demons rising from every corner of the forest, of people under the cross like madmen, of how the church bewitched people, of how a mere priest could raise a huge army."

"Ah! That was his deepest nightmare, forever haunting his sorrowful mind! His comrades, his soldiers, everything he had was shattered in that forest!"

"Unable to escape! Unable to awaken! Unable to forget!"

"Rayn Hoffman died there, nineteen years ago in the Forest of Chilia! The one who emerged in the end was nothing but a demon, a demon who wielded thunder and abandoned all emotion, and he vowed to remove this cancer of the Church from Albion!"

"He even clashed with the Queen countless times, and finally, after the Queen signed that peace treaty, he left in anger, abandoning his position as general of the Third Army Corps and the knighthood that was about to be granted to him."

People suddenly realized that most people had never actually heard this story before. After all, it was a past event that Renne least wanted to recall, and apart from those who had personally experienced the battle, generally no one would know about it.

“So—he can ease his repression of the church, but he will never cooperate with it,” Count Augures said with a reserved smile. “I have every reason to believe that he will spend the rest of his life working toward this ideal.”

"He has lived alone for so many years, and the Queen has repeatedly asked him to return to the army, but this time he agreed to be the governor. Why?"

Count Augures asked, and people gradually showed expressions of realization.

"Because a general cannot destroy a church without orders, but a governor can quietly eliminate the church's influence."

“But—” Lord Black said slowly, “if he merely ignores the Church, or slightly suppresses it, as long as he is not hostile to the Church, we will suffer losses—he will not take back the agricultural area from the Church for us, nor will he shut down Mathilde’s textile mill for us.”

"Don't worry," Count Augures said with a mysterious yet victorious smile, "He will do it."

"Like Queen Victoria, they always thought they were the ones running the country."

"But in reality—everything belongs to us."

(End of this chapter)