Werewolf Hunting Rules.

Chapter 503 Sacred or Not Sacred

The second case is of great significance to the Darkborn, as it will determine their status in Weaudi.

Neither the diocesan bishop nor the archbishop of Weaudie spoke first, but the clergy maintained basic order. They somehow determined the order of speaking, a tacit understanding Clayton had never even seen in the army.

Clayton could tell that the monks of the Dragon Slayer Society genuinely discriminated against the Darkborn, but they didn't say it that way; instead, they used a different excuse.

"Since the King of Curses attempted to return to the world, the number of beings ravaged by his evil has increased daily. We diligently cultivate ourselves day and night, arming our minds and bodies, and like our fellow knights, we fight arduously against those fallen who cannot resist the temptations of the curse, striving to create a pure land for the people. At the same time..."

The representative of the Dragon Slaying Society glanced around at the seats to his left and right, then pointed to the representative of the Yellow Light Society to his side:
“Our Huang Guanghui brothers are taking advantage of the pressure we put on those monsters to amass wealth. They show favor to the fallen, taking money from these inhumans and then leading them into the holy kingdom, forbidding us from expelling these monsters. Isn’t this a great betrayal of the Father?”

"Now they dare to accuse us of betraying our sacred sanctuary. Aren't they the ones who truly betrayed the sanctuary?"

Only those with a corrupted mind can become Darkborn—that seems to be the belief of the Dragon Slayers.

The other cultivators did not refute this, perhaps because they also thought so, or perhaps they simply felt that it was pointless to refute someone who held such a view.

However, Huang Guanghui's representative still refuted it; he had no choice but to refute it.

"'If we are to do redemption, we must first save sinners, for they need it more, as thirsty people seek a spring.' These are the words of St. Mark, and I think we should all agree with them. The Church serves the Father and naturally must do redemption. Those who intend to do evil need redemption, and those who do not intend to bear sin deserve the opportunity to be born again."

Speaking of this, the representative of Huang Guanghui waved his hands, extremely indignant: "Facing those children who are infected by the curse but can still control themselves, we open our doors simply to welcome them to fight against their own sinful nature under the guidance of the saint's gospel. This is a practice that is completely in line with the saint's gospel. I never knew that such a righteous path would be considered apostasy by the brothers of the Dragon Slaying Society!"

"As for hiring someone to commit murder—that's complete nonsense, and I don't think it even needs further explanation."

After the representatives from both sides finished speaking, the monks stood up one by one to express their support or opposition.

Not everyone within the Dragon Slayer Society supported the representative's view. Some monks believed that baptized Darkborn could be exempt from discrimination, while his fellow monks thought that they could take a step back and not be baptized, but could still be exempt from the sins of Darkborn by regularly donating money. Other monks believed that only Darkborn who were born human and were later cursed could be accepted by the Church.

The Western Bishop of the Holy Spirit Society was the first to speak at this level, arguing that the definition of Darkborn needed to be clarified before discussing the issue.

Is it based on the ancient Gospels—only those who are cursed are called Darkborn, or are all those who cannot accept the power of miracles considered Darkborn? Are human wizards considered Darkborn?

Or are all superhuman beings considered Darkborn?

If it's the last one, then some racist individuals might also arrest dwarves who possess supernatural powers as Darkin, causing huge chaos.

Effective communication cannot be achieved without defining "Darkborn".

At this point, some chaos began to arise in the two rows of seats, but Archbishop Weiodi simply patted the table, and the disorder immediately ceased.

After a silence of more than ten seconds, a monk stood up and suggested using a system outside the Church to adjudicate the matter. Outside the Church, among the confused commoners of Dorne, there was actually a system for distinguishing non-humans. Its method of judgment was quite simple and easy to understand, and it was ancient. Everyone was familiar with it, and there was no disagreement on its definition.

“Non-human creatures that are good-looking, rational, and do not actively attack humans are called elves; conversely, those that are unfriendly are called demons.”

“A non-human creature that is not good-looking but has rationality and thinks like a normal person is called a mountain spirit. A creature that is not good-looking but is relatively peace-loving is called a fairy. An ugly intelligent creature with a vicious personality is a devil.”

"Any non-human being without reason is called a monster."

"Those without physical form are mostly ghosts, and the remaining half are demons."

"Humans who can make people sick or die without touching them are sorcerers; those who can use magic to promote the growth of grains and heal people and animals are blessing masters."

This classification method is simple and clear, but sometimes creatures that meet both criteria simultaneously appear. For example, a werewolf before and after losing control is practically a different species. Clayton believed that this system could basically meet the current needs of the clergy, but Archbishop Weaudie—a rare occurrence for the old man—immediately rejected the suggestion.

“Young brothers, I ask you to respect the Church’s censorship system. There is only one situation in which pagan terms can be used freely, and that is when proselytizing. Otherwise, such disrespectful behavior should not occur.” He raised his right hand, which was covered with age spots, revealing a quill pen in his hand: “His Holiness the Cardinal will send an envoy later. We should not let him hear that we have done such an outrageous thing.”

The church's internal censorship system was so strict that the Kingdom's intelligence department adopted it from the very beginning.

The clergy knew how powerful this system was, so they immediately shut up. After a few seconds, they resumed their discussion, but the topic returned to the beginning.

The Dragon Slayers abhorred cursed creatures and insisted that the Yellow Light Society's protection of the Darkkin was blasphemous. The Yellow Light Society's defense, however, was devoid of any personal opinion; it merely repeated the words of St. Mark to prove that all their actions conformed to the Gospel norms, and that the Dragon Slayers' monks were murdered simply because they had made too many enemies, and that it was not surprising they were being targeted by their adversaries.

If left unchecked, this debate could become endless.

There was no precedent for this. Two hundred years ago, the local church was not as powerful as it is now. All the clergy were just picking up crumbs from the Lord's table to make a living. The most resolute decision they made was to refuse to baptize the Oransters. At that time, the Oransters were not as respected as they are now.

When the debate reached a stalemate, the clergy finally thought of Conionai.

If Conionne succeeds in replacing the Friendship Society, the decision they made here today may have to be changed again.

The clergy suddenly fell silent, but the hostile atmosphere intensified. The Dragon Slayers began to realize the danger and looked warily at their fellow practitioners from other sects.

Conionai could not expel the church from the city; they did not have the power. However, it would not be difficult to expel a sect like the Dragon Slayers who insisted on opposing the Darkkin, because the Yellow Light Society and the Holy Spirit Society might be involved in the effort.

"Don't overthink it." The bishop of the Southern District, seeing the cause of the tense atmosphere, took the initiative to speak: "Perhaps we will ultimately have to see what that elder thinks."

"That elder" is the Cardinal of Dorne, who holds many important positions, including not only clergy but also officials and doctors. His position as a member of the House of Lords is his least prominent one. As long as he has opinions about the situation in Weaudie, things will never be settled.

Because of the close connections between superiors and subordinates, high-ranking clergy are more likely to develop a holistic perspective.

While Clayton was still pondering the influence of the local church on Conionai, they had already begun to consider the cardinal's attitude.

“Perhaps we should invite our brothers from the Knights to garrison Weodia. With them there, Weodia will be more secure no matter what,” said the representative of the Dragon Slayer Society. The sword-wielding monk seemed more like one of their own than the other brothers here.

The monks of the Holy Spirit Society opposed this suggestion.

“Once the Knights arrive in Weiodi, more eyes will be on this place. Who can guarantee they won't make a mistake? Because of the arrival of the Cursed King, the Queen desperately needs us now, but she doesn't want us to interfere too much with power. If the Kingdom's intelligence department finds something wrong with us, they will definitely use us as the rope in a tug-of-war to adjust the balance of power.”

The monk who spoke did not continue, but everyone knows what happened next.

If the regional church in Weaudi has fallen to this state, these clergy members will naturally be held responsible and will be unlikely to be promoted in the future. They might even be sent to remote and impoverished rural areas to preach.

“I believe we have long been in Her Majesty’s sights.” Huang Guanghui’s representative shook his head, standing in the open space between the two rows of seats.

"Brothers, please don't forget that Weodi is an industrial city. There are probably fewer than thirty cities in the whole country that are richer than Weodi. I dare say that an imperial envoy will definitely visit within three months and thoroughly investigate the tragedy on the riverbank. The reduction in tax revenue in this city is no small matter."

“Even if it’s for your own sake, I would advise some brothers not to take sides arbitrarily and harm the interests of the entire parish for selfish reasons.”

Upon hearing his statement, the representative of the Dragon Slayer Society sneered: "I thought you could say something smarter. Do you think Her Majesty the Queen would stand on Conione's side? They're nothing but a pack of wolf bastards."

“But they are also nobles.” These were the words of the archbishop.

(End of this chapter)