When the Saintess Arrives, No King Exist

The snow-covered tower loomed in silence, like a silent giant standing amidst a cluster of low, pale houses.

Beyond the thick door panels, climbing up the layered windows.

Each window was protected by an iron grille, above them, rows of exquisite angels and ivy leaf carvings adorned the facade.

The soaring spire pointed directly at the sky, seemingly piercing the clouds, with the weather vane at the top buried in snow, occasionally glinting with metallic luster.

Snow covered the sides of the cobblestone streets, amidst the snow piles, vendors gritted their teeth, continuing to shout their wares.

Wheels rolling, a fine carriage stopped in front of the tower.

With a bag containing scrolls in hand, Mitney, having placed his luggage, jumped off the carriage and jogged to the large gate adorned with exquisite bronze decorations.

After lingering on Autumn Dusk Island for five days, it wasn't until January 3rd that Mitney and Qianqian hurriedly departed with the contract.

Marshall, on the other hand, stayed behind as Horn's legal advisor, helping him organize ancient texts and establish laws.

By today, January 10th, Mitney finally made it back to Rapids City by land and water routes.

His return was not only to deliver the results of the pact but also to apply for blacksmiths and wizards who could wield lightning spells for Horn.

The guard at the door recognized Mitney and naturally let him in. Following the spiral staircase to the second floor, Mitney smoothly made his way to the waiting room.

A middle-aged priest was awkwardly chatting with Carter, neither on the same wavelength.

"Carter, where is Lady Catherine?" Entering the waiting room, Mitney smiled apologetically at the middle-aged priest and asked Carter.

Seeing Mitney, Carter sighed with relief as if seeing a savior: "Over in the drawing-room, they're not letting anyone in for now… This is Brother Martin."

The middle-aged priest stood to salute: "Good afternoon, you must be Lord Mitney. I am Monk Martin from the Blago Monastery. Lady Catherine is currently in conversation with our new Dean Ludvik."

Mitney immediately smiled: "Hello, Brother Martin, just call me Mitney. My timing is quite fortunate today."

"Why?"

Mitney took a book out of his bag: "We obtained a manuscript of their theological work 'Holy Path and Salvation Teachings' from the Salvation Army, initially intended for your examination. And you just happened to arrive today."

Carter suspiciously looked at the title: "Holy Path…and they even have theological writings?"

Martin glanced at the cover and asked, "May I see it?"

Mitney handed the book over: "Of course, it's meant for you guys."

Martin took the well-bound book from Mitney's hand.

This 'Holy Path and Salvation Teachings' was only a draft, so it wasn't thick, consisting of just dozens of sheets, over a hundred pages of text.

Rather than a book, it was more of a collection of essays.

Divided into five chapters: The Free Will of Miseria, The Foundations and Origins of Inequality, The Corruption of the Church, The Birth of Thousand River Valley, and The Path to the Holy Father.

In the first chapter, "Horn" argues the sanctity of free will, citing the Gospel and an ancient, long-lost text to assert "the foundation of moral responsibility is free will."

The second chapter sees "Horn" quoting the Gospel, arguing that people are essentially the same, all creations of the Holy Father.

The first two chapters, occupying more than half the pages, establish the "truth," thereby leading to the subsequent three chapters.

The third chapter enumerates evidence railing against church corruption, quoting the Gospel "All believers had everything in common," to argue that church property should serve the poor and vulnerable.

The fourth chapter, from the truth of equality, offers scathing satire on the secular authority of monarchies represented by the Empire, positing that the Thousand River Valley is oppressed geographically and in spirit, a form of inequality.

The fifth chapter discusses how ordinary people might approach the Holy Father in the absence of the church.

Its core idea lies in the exploration and study of nature, the greatest creation of the Holy Father, offering a series of feasible methods.

Initially, Martin only perused it, but as he read, his attention was increasingly absorbed, eventually flipping back to the beginning to start anew.

Even unwittingly, he took out red ink and a quill pen, beginning to annotate and mark the margins.

It's important to know that for a long time, local priests of the Thousand River Valley have been pondering how to break through the professional ceiling.

After countless attempts and failures, they despaired and gathered at Blago Monastery, under Juanuo's leadership, commencing to resist the Church.

Yet they all advocated resistance against the Church, but the why and how of the resistance was a vagueness.

These questions were answered in the book, and according to Martin, were quite aligned with his understanding of the people of Thousand River Valley.

From the Thousand River Valley people's standpoint, it was not against Miseria, but merely expelling the Thousand River Valley Church, enticing small landlords, lower nobility, and low-ranking priests.

Call for freedom, abolish the 'Fugitive Slave Laws' to win over Public Register Farmers, advocate for equality, abolish the 'Labor Laws' to win over citizens and laborers.

The only adversaries were the major nobility and large landlords, and they were characterized by Horn as devils and demons.

Once all demands were unified, he could bring the discourse full circle, proving it wasn't a deliberate pandering but Miseria's designation a thousand years ago.

Thus the actions of the insurgents, uniting the majority, were just, though it was clearly church resistance, there was no psychic barrier.

As an uprising manifesto, though full of minor flaws, from a larger perspective, there was nothing wrong.

The book is not without its errors, often where orthodox doctrine could have been used, doubtful ancient sources were cited instead.

Among its defects, too many dubious scriptural elements, constantly overturning established interpretations would greatly diminish credibility.

Some issues could clearly be isolated cases not affecting the larger phenomena, or simply disregard factual discussions.

However, the book insisted on using some obscure doubtful sources to overturn a doctrine patched countless times, leaving one puzzled.

This caused the book, originally palatable to Martin of the Juanist faction, to continuously sporadically introduce 'toxic points' upsetting his stomach, prompting him to amend with a pen.

"The interpretation here is incorrect." As he scribbled notes in the book's margin, an aged finger stretched out beside his hand, pointing to a sentence Martin had just written.

Martin looked up in surprise to find Dean Ludvik of the Blago Monastery standing behind him: "You've confused the concepts of sensation and perception. The inference here is clearly erroneous, theirs is correct."

In the small waiting room, Carter had already left, with only Mitney standing smiling next to Catherine.

"Dean Ludvik." Martin quickly rose to salute, "I was so absorbed that I unintentionally, oh no, accidentally wrote annotations in the book."

Ludvik, a slender old man by nature with a perpetually worried expression, drooped his eyelids, took the book from Martin's hand, and began to read through it.

"The aspiration is high, but contains too much doubtful scripture, the doctrines and texts quoted aren't commonly heard." With Ludvik's theological prowess, he could naturally perceive the book's foundational level was indeed mediocre.

Obviously, this was authored by a few divinity school students and minor monks in the monastery.

Yet, even Ludvik had to acknowledge, the overall thesis might be lacking, but the aspiration was high.

The whole proposition, from establishing the two great truths to extending them into reality, to specific measures, was logically self-consistent.

If such a thesis collection was placed in a divinity school, his mentor might ask him to reduce the doubtful scriptural content, increase credible texts and orthodox doctrines, and in three to five years, it might be polished enough for graduation.

But the proposals in the thesis, such as publicizing church property, abolishing the 'Labor Laws,' actually coincided with the Juanist faction's proposals.

Ludvik even felt, "He is saying everything that I would."

After all, as a theological faction, the Juanist faction never established a core ideology, failing to fundamentally reason and explain coherently from its roots.

In other words, there was a mark but no foundation, and this book was a perfect reference for the Juanist faction's core ideology.

"Those… from the Salvation Army, what's their specific purpose in presenting this book?" Ludvik tapped the manuscript in his hand and asked.

Mitney exchanged a glance with Catherine before replying: "They need you to jointly examine and co-create this 'Holy Path and Salvation Teachings' to serve as their manifesto for launching the uprising."

Holding the 'Holy Path and Salvation Teachings' in his hands, the old dean fell silent, his half-closed eyes leaving others unable to discern his emotions.

"Martin."

"Yes, Teacher." Martin stood respectfully.

"I am granting you access to the monastery's library, giving you full authority, you're free to select any young scholars with deep learning, can you compile and revise this book?"

"In the name of Miseria, give me two weeks, and I believe I can do it!"