Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 531 Calming the Raging Spirit (Thirteen)
Father Kaman had some new questions that he needed to get answers from the old man, Hurd.

Watching Kaman's figure disappear behind the tent flap, Winters let out a long sigh of relief and collapsed wearily onto his cot, but accidentally aggravated his eye injury, and his left eye began to tear uncontrollably again.

As the sun begins to set, the light streaming through the skylight no longer reaches the ground.

The tent seemed to transform into a cave where ancient humans lived—small, dark, and isolated, giving one an instinctive sense of security.

Winters lay in the small felt tent, gazing at the ever-changing clouds through the skylight, lost in thought.

As a frequent injured person, Winters doesn't need a doctor; he can estimate the time it will take for his eye injury to heal on his own.
The pain should subside in about a week;
Bruising should subside in about two weeks.

My self-esteem... has almost recovered.

Overall, being able to exchange pain, bruises, and pride for a priest's confession is enough to be considered a minor victory.

If this opportunity can also bring the Reformed Society to the surface, it will undoubtedly be a great victory.

To hide one person, an entire monastery was silenced—the ruthless methods of the reforming order still haunt Winters to this day.

Winters had always disliked secret societies because from the day he stepped out of the ivory tower, boarded the Skua, and ventured into the wider world, none of the underground groups he had come into contact with had done anything good, nor had any left a good impression on him.

Needless to say, as a maintainer and beneficiary of the orthodox social order, it is perfectly normal for him to be averse to groups and associations that erode public power.

Therefore, rather than letting the Reformed Order remain hidden in the shadows and feel like they were a thorn in his side, Winters was determined to drag the Reformed Order out of the shadows no matter what.

Getting punched for this is really nothing.

If Kaman wanted to pursue the beauty of symmetry, he could even gleefully offer his right cheek for Kaman to hit.

However, the situation becomes complicated when the wasteland, various tribes, and the Hed people are involved.

If everything is as Kaman speculates—that the Arians have been spreading in the Great Wilderness for hundreds or even thousands of years, and that a "church" still exists today.

Therefore, the faith of the Hed people today must have been mixed with some elements of the "One Church".

The evidence is that the Vendors inside the palace tents did not show general hostility towards the foreign missionaries or their "distant relatives" who had converted to Catholicism; on the contrary, some of them showed great respect.

This means that they not only do not regard the elderly as "others," but they don't even have the thought that "he might be an other." They take the elderly's faith for granted and regard it as the same thing as the faith they themselves were born with.

Of course, there might be...somewhat...slight differences...

But it's still the same thing—after all, no matter how different they are, they can't be more different than the differences between different departments.

Winters pondered: "While the current Hurds would undoubtedly be considered 'infidels,' if a Hurd has already unconsciously accepted some of the doctrines, does that mean he is naturally more likely to accept other doctrines, or even formally convert?"
"Will they hate each other even more because they are similar yet not similar enough?"
"If this continues, will the Heard Wasteland become the next North?"

The thought that the Herd Wasteland might become the next North, and that the Herd people might all convert to Christianity, stirred a complex and strange emotion within Winters.

Disgust, curiosity, bewilderment, indifference, surprise, apathy... a variety of emotions took turns dominating the conversation.

Because this matter is of great importance.

His entanglement with the Reformed Order was so significant that it paled in comparison to this momentous event that could affect the fate of millions.

But he also understands that the influence he can exert on this is very limited—at least for now.

He was lying on a simple cot in a small felt tent, but it felt as if he were in the middle of a great river.

Behind him, rolling in from the past, is the thousand-year-old missionary work of the Arians.

Before him, rolling toward the future, were the souls of the Hed people, their destinations unknown.

Humans instinctively believe they are at the end of time and that everything they see in the world will continue to exist in the future. Just as the people of ancient empires, sipping wine in their magnificent bathhouses, believed that their empires, like the bathhouses built on a single block of granite, would last forever.

But today we know that the wine of the ancient empire contained lead poisoning, the ruins of the baths still remain, but the empire has vanished. And one day, even the granite beneath the baths will weather and crumble into dust.

Through repeated setbacks, Winters has gradually learned to view the world with a dynamic perspective.

Today's enemy may become tomorrow's ally;

Today's partner may become tomorrow's rival;

The ancient city that is now a place of extravagance and revelry may one day be reduced to a sea of ​​fire.
Today, the Hurds are "savages," "infidels," and people who are not considered "human" by some. Perhaps one day they will become part of the Alliance, but it is also possible that they will never accept the Alliance or be accepted by the Alliance.

Just as they may continue to maintain their current beliefs, they may also convert as the entire people of the Northern Kingdoms did.

However, by the time all that happened, we might no longer be here today.

Conversely, just because people can't see it today doesn't mean it won't happen in the future.

Winters shook his head, rising from the river of time.

He didn't think about what would happen after his death, nor did he consider where the Hed people would go in the future.

He refocused his attention on the present moment, on this very instant, and on the question of "what impact might the existence of the Arian sect have on newly reclaimed lands."

He found himself needing more information.

Because he is now like a commander who knows nothing about the enemy situation.

How much influence did the Arians have in the Hed tribes and in the newly reclaimed lands?
Did the Reformed Order ever interfere with the Arian religious order?

If so, what is their purpose?
If not, how will the Catholic Church react after Kaman reports the situation to the College of Cardinals?
His soldier's instincts told him that he had to gather as much intelligence as possible.

There may be a battle, or there may be no battle, but only by gathering more intelligence on the enemy can he hope to achieve victory when the battle comes.

And he needs more help.

At this moment, Winters missed Brother Reid terribly. If the old man were still here, he would surely laugh and scold him a few times, and then analyze the situation and offer advice.

However, Brother Reid was no longer there, and Winters felt a pang of sadness at the thought.

In contrast, Kaman...

Kaman!

Winters was furious at the thought of Kaman.

"That guy Kaman!" Winters thought angrily, "He always keeps things to himself and won't say a word!"

Winters jumped out of his cot, ready to go find Kaman.

However, after a moment's thought, he lay back down.

"It's not dark yet, so it's not convenient to see anyone." Winters gently rubbed his swollen eyes, thinking, "I'll wait until Kaman comes back."

Just as Winters was mentally preparing himself to “experience the beauty of symmetry,” Pierre’s voice came from outside the tent.

“Your Excellency,” Pierre’s voice was polite but indifferent, “Lord Yaházy wishes to see you.”

[The Romans and Baths are quoted and adapted from "The Three-Body Problem 3: Death's End"]
[Since we now publish on a schedule, unlike writing and publishing as we go which allows for immediate annotation in the chapter comments, I've changed the explanation to the author's notes. Please understand.]
[Original text: The historical significance of the fall of Constantinople only became apparent much later. When it happened, the first thought was that the Roman Empire had finally vanished completely. Byzantium was a thousand-year-long rut left behind by ancient Rome; though it had its moments of glory, it ultimately evaporated like water droplets under the scorching sun. Back then, the ancient Romans whistled in their magnificent bathhouses, believing that their empire, like the baths beneath them, was built on a single block of granite and would last forever. Now people know that all good things must come to an end.]
Even though I've forgotten many of the plot points of The Three-Body Problem, I still remember this passage vividly.