Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 175 Imperial Truth
Hughes could accept a Candlelight Church in his territory, but it would be a completely different matter if this church covered the entire Castel.

Whether it was the Candlelight Society or the Silent Temple, Hughes had no intention of letting them enter the core of Castel's power, even the Fire Moth was the same.

Hughes provided the Fire Moths with quite generous conditions, allowing them to live in Castel and providing them with shelter, but he strictly restricted their missionary work.

Chloe paid a huge price in private in exchange for Zeus allowing Gaia to join the Fire Moth. This was the first and only believer of the Fire Moth after it officially joined Caster.

Hughes always treated the church with the utmost vigilance. He would not despise any church or any belief.

Chloe complained about this many times, but Hughes never gave in, and even hoped that she would try her best to turn the Fire Moth into an academic organization.

Well, there are some differences between the two sides on this point. In Chloe's opinion, the Fire Moths have been able to survive until now because of a sufficiently strict organization. If he wants them to give up these, then Zeus must first prove that Caster is really capable of protecting them.

This is a very reasonable request, so the two sides have put aside their disputes and focused on cooperation. The Fire Moth basically no longer actively preaches, and Zeus has also given up further demands.

Thinking of this, Chloe had no doubt that Hughes could really create a new sect. She felt that Hughes was too hostile to other churches.

"It doesn't necessarily have to be a church." Hughes frowned and said slowly, "To be honest, I don't want to establish a new church, even if it's led by me. Faith inevitably leads to blind obedience and extremism, which is different from what I want to promote."

Chloe blinked and tilted her head in confusion. "Is that true? I'm also a church member. How come I don't feel like I'm being extreme?"

Zeus looked at her speechlessly. The person in front of him was the chief of the Fire Moth, who had been rated as the "most dangerous cult" and "a complete lunatic" on the continent for many years. Not long ago, she summoned an evil god in her own territory just to regularly clear the pollution. In the end, she found that the summoned one was a dangerous Outer God. She chose to lock him up and study him slowly. Last time, she did not hesitate to use herself as a test subject for the experiment.

Even among the cultists, Ms. Chloe is notorious. Her evil deeds are known to everyone from the White Crow Duchy in the north to the Dukedom of Cohen in the south.

Xius said expressionlessly: "Then you are an exception."

".I always feel like you're secretly cursing me in your heart."

"Ahem, anyway, I don't plan to build a church." Hughes coughed lightly. "But the church must be built correctly. After the expansion, the church doesn't need to hang the Candlelight Society's holy emblem, right?"

"That's not necessary. The protective inscriptions are carved into the ground, and nothing can be seen above. However, the buildings above must be churches. They don't have to look like churches, but they must be churches in name."

"I understand. It's cognitive interference, right? We must use the name of the church to solidify people's cognition."

"That's about right. The guardian inscription only protects the concept of 'within the church.' If enough people don't think this is a church, then this definition will shift. The misalignment between people's collective cognition and reality will naturally lead to cognitive interference."

"In other words, I need to come up with a reason to justify the existence of this church covering the entire Castel without alerting the Empire and the Candlelight Society? Wait, what about that anchor point?"

Xiusike still remembered that the Candlelight Society's church was a beacon made up of anchors in the sea of unconsciousness. If the anchors didn't move, no matter how he changed the church, the Candlelight Society would immediately notice the problem. If they came and asked why my anchors were inside his church, Xiusike would be unable to explain it.

"Don't worry, I've made a thorough modification to the Guardian Inscription. The anchor point is already part of the Guardian Inscription. The process of modifying the inscription is the process of changing the anchor point. The Candlelight Society will definitely not recognize this."

"What if they come looking for the old anchor? They say the church collapsed?"

"Almost. I was planning to do a little chemistry experiment in the church, and I accidentally collapsed the church, even destroying the protective inscriptions underground. Poor Chloe was terrified and stopped being a nun."

"Wait a minute! Wait a minute!" Hughes rubbed his forehead. "How can you stop being a nun? Can you even quit your job?"

"Of course you can." Chloe glanced at Hughes with a smile, her hands behind her back as she walked between the faded oak benches. Her orange-red hair flickered in the light reflected from the stained windows. "You're not allowed to leave until you become a First-Class Assistant Priest. Nuns are free to leave the Candlelight Order, and some even marry after leaving."

".What if Candlelight holds you responsible for damaging the church?"

"It was Brother Keschi who caused the explosion. What does it have to do with me, Chloe?"

"."

This is quite a skill in shifting the blame. Zeus was speechless. However, there is nothing to worry about. Castel is still in preparation. Let's get through the current difficulties first. The Candlelight Society seems to be unable to take care of itself. Who knows, they might be destroyed by then.

"Speaking of which, we can keep that anchor point for ourselves. It can be of some use. I can modify it a little bit so the Candlelight Society won't be able to find it."

Can the anchor still be retained?
This was beyond Zeus's expectations. He thought that being able to remove the anchor point was already the limit. It seemed that this group of fire-chasing moths had a deeper understanding of the guardian inscription than he imagined.

Why do they seem so skilled in using the Candlelight Society's things?
"What's the use of that anchor? We don't have the ability to connect to other anchors, right?"

"That's the case for now, but it may be of great use in the future. Every anchor point in the Sea of Unconsciousness is precious, and we can rely on it to identify our direction within it. This means we can explore the Sea of Unconsciousness with peace of mind."

"By the way, have you decided on a name for the new church?"

"I have a few ideas." Hughes grinned. "I plan to turn the church into a place for academic exchange, minimizing traditional beliefs. While nominally a place for scriptures and doctrine, the actual content will be the dissemination of knowledge, making it more like an academic organization. Well, we can use the Empire's name to reduce their hostility towards us."

"Let's call this belief the Imperial Truth."

(End of this chapter)