Divine Kingship

Chapter 602 Hehe, cultists understand cultists better.

Although Rand is the leader of a cult, he is already considered an enemy of evil by many cult members.

Rand may be more troublesome to cultists than the members of the Torch Church.

The reason is simple. The first is, of course, Rand's blessing, [Blessing 6: The Favor of the Torch Goddess].

Another reason is that Rand's followers are very experienced in dealing with cultists.

Although Rand has now completely whitewashed the Church of the Goddess of Harvest and Health.

But the core members of that group had been cult members for a long time.

Rand also offered courses on how cultists could blend into human towns undetected.

Nowadays, it can only be said that cultists understand cultists better than the Torch Church.

Rand's campaign to sweep away the cultists in his territory was not simply for the purpose of eliminating cultists.

He also brought many new members from the Torch Church and the Goddess of Harvest and Health Church to practice how to discover and capture cultists in the territory.

Rand himself will not take direct action; he will only clean up the mess afterward.

Rand himself wasn't particularly skilled at capturing cultists, but since Blessing 6 could directly identify suspects, reasoning backwards was much simpler.

In short, this time we're training new talent while also dealing with the pests in our territory.

Rand set off with Queen Ellie and Inspector Elsa.

Last time we went to the Elf Forest, I left a lot of things to the Queen and Elsa, so now it's a good opportunity to give them a break.

As for the matter of territory, Lysa and Olena are naturally capable of handling it.

So, inside the carriage, Rand sat in the middle, Ellie on his left was looking at a booklet of clothing art designs, and Elsa on his right was studying a cookbook.

Ellie was not only an archmage but also a fashion designer, though now that she is queen, she doesn't design clothes herself as often these days.

Elsa also had to squeeze out a lot of time for her hobbies because of work, but Elsa has already achieved her goal, as she has won the championship of the Holy Domain Culinary Competition.

"Recently, the food department has been asking you if you have any instructions regarding the food-related matters of the Holy Domain forces." Elsa leaned lightly on Rand's shoulder.

"Let them collect more grains from different regions and develop more edible areas. Some grains are not only edible in their fruit form. Also, let's try to develop functional foods, such as military rations that can be stored for a long time and are suitable for replenishing energy."

Elsa said she understood.

Ellie looked at the art and design book for a while, then rested her chin on her hand and stopped looking.

She had also heard that her sister was coming.

Ellie still has some uncertainty about the development of her sister's relationship with Rand. She wonders if that coward Rand will be able to win her over this time that her sister is here to help.

Rand was actually quite audacious, but it wasn't enough in Ellie's eyes.

She had long realized that her sister wasn't actually that resistant to Rand.

She actually felt that Rand could have just taken off his pants and pounced on her to solve the problem a long time ago.

But Rand was too timid and dragged it out until now.

But it's not bad, judging from Rand's reaction, the progress should be about right.
Her family's wish is about to come true!
In short, Ellie is very satisfied with her life now. When she decided to be with Rand, she never thought that she would become a queen or anything like that.

Now that Rand has become king, Ellie feels a little unreal.

However, she is living a very good life nowadays, although she was very busy when she was a baroness, she was very busy when she was a countess, and she is still very busy when she is a duchess.

Even now as queen, she remains very busy.

……

At this moment, on the surging sea...

The new king of the Kingdom of Bolen stood on the deck, his face weathered.

He was cursing Rand to suffer a terrible fate.

The inhabitants of the Kingdom of Bolen are natural-born sailors, and the royal family of Bolen even has a blood connection with the sea.

This allowed the inhabitants of the Kingdom of Bolun to better adapt to life at sea.

But this by no means means that they can leave the land.

Humans are terrestrial beings, not marine creatures like the Naga. If they stay on ships all the time, their quality of life will decline significantly.

Even he, the king, was no exception.

The legitimate rulers of the Kingdom of Bolen are now scattered and displaced. In fact, the army of the Frostmoon Kingdom only conquered the main cities of the Kingdom of Bolen on the mainland, but did not conquer the islands in the ocean that belonged to the Kingdom of Bolen.

This gave the exiled government of the Kingdom of Bolen a chance to survive.

Just because you can survive doesn't mean things are better.

Nowadays, the islands that the former Kingdom of Bolen still controls are becoming increasingly disobedient, unwilling to supply the fleet with supplies in a timely manner, and may even tip off the people of Rand.

These islands are no longer safe for the Bolen Kingdom's fleet. When they docked recently, there were even assassins from Rand who killed several of their sailors, which has made some people in the fleet feel uneasy.

"Perhaps we could seek refuge with a southern country and get their support to restore our kingdom. We can then offer them some benefits." The new king was already finding his current life unbearable.

The water he drank today even smelled like rotten seaweed.

The attendants, hearing the new king's mutterings, dared not utter a word.

Even if other southern countries were willing to support the restoration of the Kingdom of Bolen, which of them could defeat Rand?

It's likely they'll just use the Kingdom of Bolen's fleet to strengthen their naval power and harass Land from a distance.

In that case, the new king might be secretly poisoned, or he might be treated well and fed.

The new king's attendants are unknown.

……

In fact, several countries are currently planning to make contact with the fleet of the Kingdom of Bologna.

The fleet of the Kingdom of Bolen, this powerful maritime overlord, at least for now, has no truly comparable rival.

Receiving the fleet from the Kingdom of Bolen and acknowledging the sovereignty of the former king of Bolen would undoubtedly alienate Rand.

For the countries bordering the Moon Phase Kingdom, this was not a wise choice.

But for those southern countries that are thousands of miles away from the Moon Kingdom, it doesn't matter much if they become enemies with Rand.

The benefits of acquiring the Kingdom of Bolen's fleet far outweigh the risks of being hostile to Rand.

The Champs-Élysées Kingdom is currently holding a meeting to consider this issue.

The Champs-Élysées Kingdom is a country that is very far away from the Moon Kingdom.

"The envoy from the Kingdom of Bolen has arrived," the palace scribe told the King of the Kingdom of Champs-Élysées.

Outside the palace at this time.

Lanta and Chad were also whispering to each other. "Is that carriage the carriage of the envoy from the Kingdom of Bolen?" Lanta asked Chad.

Ranta and Chad worked in the New Holy City for a while. Later, some of the utilitarian paladins from the New Holy City went to the Kingdom of Bolen to provide support, but were wiped out by Ranta.

The steadfast pragmatist faction that still existed in the New Holy City has weakened further.

Today, the new holy city is still dominated by pragmatists.

However, with the support of the Holy Land forces, the old knight commander has already amassed his own power, and his influence in the new Holy City is growing stronger.

Ranta and Chad certainly played a significant role in this, but since things were almost over, there was no need for them to remain in the new Holy City any longer; the new recruits could handle the issues.

These two exceptionally capable clergymen could go elsewhere to do their work, but their work is needed even more.

Rand was always very worried about their safety.

Knowing they couldn't stay idle, they equipped both of them with strong dragonblood eagles and arranged for many special magical equipment and relics.

These equipment and mounts were very expensive, but compared to their contributions, they were negligible.

In fact, Rand would prefer them to stay like this and come back to do a good, leisurely job with good benefits.

But when faced with a request like Rand's, Rand and Chad's responses were mostly just procrastination.

For example, I'll definitely go back next time.

"Do you want to kill that messenger?" Chad clearly saw through Ranta's thoughts.

Logically speaking, killing the envoy would be tantamount to the Kingdom of Champs-Élysées showing great disdain for the Kingdom of Bolognese, not only refusing Bolognese's request but also killing the envoy.

Even if the Kingdom of Bolen could understand the Kingdom of Champs-Élysées, the death of the envoy was due to an accident, not because the Kingdom of Champs-Élysées acted on its own.

That would at least leave one vulnerable spot.

A potential collaboration could be ruined as a result.

In reality, under the current circumstances, doing so wouldn't make much sense. The Champs-Élysées Kingdom could simply hand over the person who killed the envoy to the Bolen Kingdom, and the matter would be over.

After all, the Kingdom of Bolen is in dire need of a partner right now. Although the Kingdom of Champs-Élysées also urgently needs a powerful fleet to protect its territorial waters and contain Rand, it does not have a survival-related need.

"I have some ideas, but it seems you don't think it's a good idea?" Lanta squatted on the ground and drew on the ground with a small twig.

"Typical petty mentality!" Chad scoffed.

If the two people are strangers, or if Chad is just a close friend, then saying this would be somewhat offensive.

But Chad, being a member of the Torch Church, had no such connection.

Because the name "Chad" includes their Torch Church.

“Then what should we do?” Ranta asked.

“We can simply exert pressure as His Majesty’s envoys,” Chad offered his answer.

"Isn't the king here trying to cause trouble for His Majesty? If we go directly there, won't we be kicked out or arrested?" Lanta asked.

“If the entire nation is wholeheartedly determined to be an enemy of His Majesty, then there is no need for the envoy from the Kingdom of Bolen to come here, nor for a meeting,” Chad sneered.

“All we need to do is convey His Majesty’s authority here and tell them the consequences of supporting the Kingdom of Bolen. We need to let them know that even from such a distance, we can still accomplish something,” Chad said slowly.

This was certainly risky, but His Majesty Rand had provided them with so much equipment and tools that their safety had been greatly increased.

If they are really being chased, as long as it's not a top-level professional who rushes over directly, their chances of escaping are still quite high.

……

When the summer heat subsided somewhat, in the early autumn of the year 340 of the Holy Calendar.

Rand arrived at the border village of the Duke of Lunar Phase.

On the way here, Rand had dealt with many cultists, and the new members of the Torch Church and the Church of the Goddess of Harvest and Health who accompanied him and needed to be trained had also matured a lot.

After visiting the last location, the trip came to a successful conclusion.

Rand stepped off the carriage and took a deep breath.

The rural scenery is as beautiful as ever.

This time, I also brought along busy Ellie and Elsa to relax, so naturally we paid attention to the scenery.

The morning mist weaves a translucent cocoon above the alfalfa field, and the dewdrops clinging to the tips of the grass refract an ambiguous hue between summer green and autumn brown. When the wind sweeps by, the entire field of wild oats trembles like scattered silver.

Suddenly, a few rebellious sunflowers burst forth... their drooping flower heads still glistening with night dew.

It's early autumn now, so the fruit trees here aren't yet laden with fruit, but the green, unripe fruit is a sign that a bountiful harvest is on the way.

Rand led his men into the village.

This is a branch campus of a church school, and strictly speaking, it can no longer be considered a village. It has a bit of the feel of the crescent-shaped stronghold that Taran ruled back then.

The village has a large population; if it expands further and a wall is built, it can be considered a town.

However, it is currently still defined as a village.

The village leader had been waiting at the village entrance for quite some time.

The Holy Land doesn't follow these cumbersome formalities, but since His Majesty Rand is here to provide guidance, it wouldn't be appropriate for someone not to be there to protect him... After some thought, the bishop here still came out with a few people to greet him.

From Rand's perspective, the two believers behind the bishop, one muscular and one thin, are both depicted in a gray-black color, signifying hostility.

But the bishop himself is fiery red, signifying a staunch supporter of Rand.

Rand frowned. Generally speaking, the regional bishops or village chiefs in the more important towns in these places have undergone rigorous examinations.

One of the assessment criteria is the ability to determine friend from foe.

But the bishop clearly did not realize that the two men were enemies.

However, given the need to nurture new members of the church and his incomplete understanding of Blessing 6's abilities, Rand did not act rashly.

In short, check in first, then start the investigation. If you really don't find two cultists around, then this bishop might as well go back to church school for a second year.

Meanwhile, Molin and Dazhuang, who were cult members, trembled with fear.

Even the cult's little Karami had heard of Rand's horror and hatred of evil.

To the average citizen, Rand was probably a benevolent and wise ruler.

But for cult members, it could mean a nightmare.

Da Zhuang and Mo Lin exchanged a glance, their eyes conveying a clear message.

If they surrender now, will His Majesty Rand forgive them because they did not commit any evil?

They had been working since being inexplicably recruited by the local bishop, and their plan was to just coast along until the mission was over and then slip away.

It's clear now that there's no way to escape.

(End of this chapter)