I will be crowned king

Returning home?

Listening to the bishop's motto-like farewell, Anson's expression was somewhat strange. He wanted to say something but felt very awkward. It seemed that it would be more appropriate for him to shut up and remain silent.

As for the friend who "kindly" provided them with advice and help... don't think too much, there is no third person except Karin Jacques or a certain unscrupulous novelist, and most of them don't have any good intentions.

For a long time to come, the New World should be a key area for the Holy See; at this time, the "Seeking Truth Sect" that has disappeared for many years - usually called the Ivory Sect, but that is a contemptuous name - will not cause any problems. Note that this is definitely a lie, but it is not as wary of the Holy See as the Universal Sect.

After all, except for a genius like Saint Isaac who is rare for thousands of years, the hundreds of years of accumulation of the Qiuzhen Sect is not a threat. In addition, the most important legacy of the Truth Society has long been collected by the Holy See, leaving a certain These scattered manuscript documents are at most the level of "historical truth"; for ordinary people, it is better not to know if they know it. Even if the upper-level people don't know, they have probably already guessed it to a close degree.

Therefore, universal religious believers pretending to be the "Truth Seeking Sect" can indeed reduce the attention of the Holy See and even gain support from some Clovis-friendly people... but this is certainly not the main purpose of the Truth Society.

In fact, the reason is not difficult to guess: on the one hand, of course, like Clovis, Hantu and the northern giants of the empire, they hope to make the Free Confederacy a living target to attract the firepower of the Holy See, and do not shift their attention to the New World for the time being. outside areas.

This is not even a guess... While he was still negotiating with Philus, the young secretary Alan Dawn sent a piece of "important information": The Kingdom of Naxir has completely pacified the domestic war. The rebels officially declared war on the neighboring countries that had previously been seriously ill and entrenched on the border, waiting for opportunities to take advantage of the situation.

Taking advantage of the coming winter at the end of September to start the war, Naxir's idea is self-evident: to take advantage of the fact that all the major powers and the Holy See are still busy with holy wars and have no time to take into account his small and transparent opportunity on the edge of the world of order. You can catch as much as you can.

Anyway, you won't lose anything by grabbing a fortune, and you will gain blood by unifying the three countries in Beihai.

Assuming that the three North Sea countries are successfully unified, it will be a mixed result for the Free Confederation - the advantage is of course having a true geographical ally, and at the same time, the two sides can achieve complementary resources, and there is no conflict of interest.

Even out of interest, the three North Sea countries are actually happy to see the strength of the Free Confederacy strengthen; after all, an ally with strong maritime power and increasing wealth can greatly reduce the coercion from the empire and turn it into a sense of imperial overseas. vassal state.

As for the disadvantages... In the long run, it is only a matter of time before the three North Sea countries are no longer divided and a conflict breaks out with the Free Confederation.

For the three North Sea countries, which are far away from the old continent and are actually island countries, as long as they are unified, the New World is almost the only direction of expansion. In addition, the most fertile territory of the Free Confederacy is almost all near the sea, which is very convenient for such naval powers to harass and invade.

Not only that, unlike the Holy See's Holy War Army, the three North Sea countries that are close enough will not have logistics, or even periodic problems. As long as it is not winter, fleets can be organized to harass and invade any other day of the year; there is no need to go deep. Inland, capturing the port is victory.

Of course, that is something that will happen a long time in the future, dozens or even hundreds of years.

As for the final result...

……………………

"Is it important?"

In the tavern at the port of Beluga Harbor, Draco, who was still wearing the shabby coat and holding the rye beer, lay drunkenly on the table, raised his head and smiled at Anson: "No matter whether the Free Confederacy defeats Naxir, the three countries of the North Sea will win again." Does secession, the demise of the Free Confederacy, becoming a colony again, or a bunch of effects...do it matter?"

"It's a bit weird when you say that." Glancing at the lively or drunken Jihadist Army and New World Legion soldiers around him, Anson had to lower his voice to avoid being discovered:

"Leave aside the Free Confederacy, the unification war of the three countries in the North Sea started at your instigation; it has not ended yet with such an indifferent attitude, it is easy for others to misunderstand that you are the kind of scourge who just watch the fun and don't take it too seriously - —Although it is."

"It seems that your misunderstanding of me is getting deeper and deeper, Your Excellency Anson Bach."

The novelist smiled bitterly and shook his head, then changed the topic: "But... this is a good thing."

"...a good thing?"

"Yes, it's a great thing." Draco narrowed his eyes slightly: "You care about the fate and fate of Naxir and the Free Confederacy. This proves that you are no longer the same person you were in Clovis. When he was in the city, he tried hard to get out of the storm, but in the end he was still caught in the eye of the storm. "

"In other words, you have become more and more aware that the future of the world of order is closely related to your own destiny; if you do not lift the imprisonment and shackles of the Church of the Ring of Order on the entire world, whether as an individual or a member of a collective, you will There is no freedom at all.”

"On top of this, whether it's lies or deception... the "Declaration of Resistance" written by you and the Free Confederacy you founded will become the first crack in the collapse of the cage and continue to extend."

"Right now, this power called 'freedom' is still very weak, but given time, the myth of the Seven Knights and the glory of the Ring of Order will be ruthlessly crushed by this power; the cage that seals the world will no longer exist. exist."

"Every country, every piece of land, every person... will become the master of their own destiny and will no longer be controlled by the established 'destiny'; in such a world that is no longer shackled, as for the ebb and flow of personal destiny What does it have to do with the rise and fall of countries, the rise and fall of countries?”

"Now you have obviously realized this; otherwise, the land would not have been unified so smoothly, the Elf Kingdom of Yser would not have escaped destruction, the Free Confederation would not have been born, and the dream of the three North Sea countries' unification... It will always be just a dream.”

“Perhaps you were confused at the beginning and thought that you could enjoy a comfortable life as long as you completed what you should do; but now you must have understood that if you want to control your own destiny without being bound or becoming a tool in the hands of others, Puppet, puppet, then there is only one way to go..."

"In other words, Your Excellency Anson Bach, you are now..." The corner of Draco's mouth curled up mysteriously:

"I have completely understood the meaning of the existence of truth."

The light and powerful words echoed in the noisy tavern.

Anson said nothing.

After drinking all the beer in the cup, Draco Vertes stared at the figure in front of him for a long time, as if he was a lonely traveler in the desert who finally met a fellow traveler, and his heart was filled with joy. , but there is still a trace of panic, fear of not getting a response from the other party.

But he knows that this is just a humble delusion deep in his heart, a manifestation of the slightest uneasiness before getting the final decision; being able to sit here, isn't it enough to prove that the two parties are already like-minded friends?

sure!

Please see... Without saying a word, he also silently picked up the wine glass, swaying the wine in the glass with deep meaning, if there was something there, if it was not there, he glanced at himself, and then...

call--

Pour a full glass of beer on the novelist's head.

Draco: "... Well, next time you don't want to drink it, you can just give it to me; really, I don't mind at all."

"I have a question. You, the Truth Society, always say that the church has put shackles on the world, imprisoned people's thoughts, restricted freedom and development... I don't object to it, but those are all in the past." Anson said blankly The expression said:

"The current Holy See, whether it is war or external affairs, obviously intends to actively intervene in secular affairs. Even if they have set various restrictions, as long as they change from a spiritual leader to a secular ruler, they will definitely make some changes. "

"With the size, wealth, and influence of the Holy See in the world, if you really make up your mind to build your own country to replace the empire... I won't say there is no problem, but it will definitely be much easier than the Free Confederation to dominate the world. "

"It has strength, ambition, and no shortage of skills. It can even be said that it is ideal - yes, the ideal of order and stability may be somewhat different from the freedom you desire, but the vast majority of people in this world What we pursue is still a stable and prosperous life, not the chaos and turmoil caused by disorder.”

"You just said that the rise and fall of a country has nothing to do with it. I think so too; the Free Confederacy in the future may become a powerful country in the new world, and even annex the three countries of the North Sea, or be annexed by the three countries of the North Sea, it doesn't matter. Her mission may have ended then.”

"So...why can't the one who is strong and rising be the church?"

Anson's expression was very serious, not because he was very curious about the answer, but because he hoped to confirm the attitude of the Truth Society.

Although he is always sarcastic and sarcastic, he does not believe that there is really such an organization in the world that has no other intention than making trouble; the truth will struggle to the death, fight, develop offline, cooperate with friends and even enemies... Ambition may not be mentioned. , but he definitely has his own ideals.

After all, it cannot give its members great wealth and status, and the material level is basically zero. There is also the risk of life and social death. If it falls into the hands of the Holy See, life will be worse than death...

Even if this kind of organization is really the base camp of an extremist group, it must be an ideal base camp.

Draco, who was showered all over his head, did not answer his question immediately, but pointed to the wine glass in his hand: "Do you... know the characteristics of wine?"

What, are you trying to play a metaphor on me? Anson raised his eyebrows.

"Wine, ale, mead, beer...no matter what kind, they are all products of time, transforming from the original form into a brand new appearance." Draco raised the corner of his mouth:

"At first it was very beautiful, even amazing...the ordinary wheat, grapes, and honey turned into an intoxicating nectar; and the most special thing is that the longer it goes, the more mellow the taste becomes."

"But the more mellow it is, the farther it becomes from its original appearance..." Draco put down the wine glass in his hand:

"Until you can no longer smell the fragrance of apples, the sweetness of honey, and the aroma of malt except for the strong aroma of wine; some people think this is nothing, after all, they are brewing them for the sake of fine wine; but some people think that this is nothing. If you don’t think so, the contents in the cup have no connection with the impression.”

“Especially if it is not sealed properly during the aging process, the wine will become rancid, sour, and turn into something completely different; but the winemaker will still drink it seriously because he spent too much on it. It’s too much time to give up.”

"Even though he knows very well in his heart, that kind of thing... can no longer be called 'wine'."

At that moment, the hustle and bustle around me seemed very far away.

"Your metaphor is very poor, although I know what you mean."

Anson nodded slightly: "The Holy See, which represents the original order of the old era, cannot give the world new vitality and can only continue to maintain the established order...right?"

"This is also their heaviest sin." Draco nodded with satisfaction, seeming to be quite satisfied with his part:

"As the organization with the most technology and wisdom, it not only fails to bring more progress to the world, but also imprisons knowledge and even more ideas. It serves as the gatekeeper of an order that should have collapsed long ago. Shouldn't it be destroyed? ?"

"In the final analysis, it is impossible to want new things without completely destroying and disintegrating the old existence; of course, after the destruction, we can remember and sigh with emotion, take the original gorgeous appearance to decorate the facade, denounce the past and cut them off The extreme act of killing everyone...this is okay."

"But before looking down at the past so high and arrogantly, we must first completely destroy their essence and then build a tomb that represents their demise."

Draco suddenly showed a flattering smile: "Of course, it would be great if I could get your assistance in this process."

"And I have a hunch that what you are going to do next will be closely related to our goal, or even perfectly consistent. I am not a prophet, but if what I say is true... please allow the Truth Society to lend a helping hand."

A helping hand... I just ask you not to interfere anymore. Anson twitched his lips and said, "I'm really sorry. What I want to do next is to leave Beluga Port and return to Clovis. I don't need your help."

"Ah... That's really not necessary, or we don't know how to help you." Draco nodded slightly and raised his index finger:

"Just a small question. You have told Miss Thalia August Rune that you are leaving soon, and you have obtained her consent, right... eh?"

Draco froze.

Anson froze in place.