I, the wizard, the foolish Buddha.

Catherine exclaimed, "I never imagined that so many 'wandering mercenaries (wizards)' and local 'enthusiastic residents (revolutionaries)' would eagerly join the army after the war that just happened on the riverbank."

Judging from the current pace of recruit recruitment, the military strength of Grey Falcon City will pose a significant challenge to the wizards in the future.

"Your Excellency, it seems you can now peacefully proceed to the Dawn Retreat for your spiritual practice, leaving everything here in the care of your son."

Baal nodded and said, "The Light and Shadow Alliance would be very happy to see the emergence of a new lord. Of course, they also have no say in the succession of the Dracula family."

Catherine said, "The Order of Light and Shadow would certainly like to see Edward become the new Earl. After all, when the King of Alaye was talking to me about Edward, he said that he hoped Edward would join the future administration of the Riverbank."

Roland couldn't hold back any longer and couldn't help but complain, "You guys are too lazy to even act anymore."

Angel River was supposed to be a neutral territory, but the previous lord of Dracula donned the robes of the Holy Blood Clan, and a large number of wizards and revolutionaries joined the new count's army.

Isn't it obvious that they've already sided with Liming Xinhui?
Would the Church of Light and Shadow agree to this?

Despite the complaints, Roland knew that Catherine's actions were not problematic.

Because Alaye is the rightful ruler of this world, and all the lands that the sun can shine on belong to the King of Alaye.

As for the Church of Light and Shadow, they were merely stewards for the King of Alaye, tending to his lands.

Now, the King of Alaye is about to receive the coronation from the gods.

He will represent God's will; whichever land he says he will grant to whom, he will grant to that person.

As for the gods, they don't care who becomes the new insect king of this world.

As long as the insects behave, they won't use pesticides.

As long as the insect is willing to lead the bees to make honey for them, that insect will become the new master of this world.

The King of Alaye will indeed be an excellent insect, and this will be Roland's most important mission next—to be a lackey of the gods and a traitor to humanity.

Catherine kept saying they were taking a carriage. Roland had always thought it was a horse-drawn carriage, but when he arrived at the southernmost part of the old town, he realized it was a train.

A train station has been built here. Although it is very simple, with only a few small platforms, the railway tracks have been laid to the horizon at the end of the field of vision.

Judging from the city walls being demolished in the distance, this train station was built overnight. It's unclear how far the tracks have been laid, but it's certainly long enough to take a train all the way away from the banks of the River Angels.

Roland could guess that during the months of war, the wizards had probably already restored most of the 'ancient facilities' along the river.

At least the various mines and steel mills are now able to produce steel in large quantities.

They even had steam trains.

It's unclear what the main mode of transportation was along the river four hundred years ago, but the railroad tracks and trains must have been built later, as the trains look very much like those in Vermec—they might have been brought directly from Vermec.

Today, those resource gathering sites built four hundred years ago are likely connected by transportation networks. Goods can be transported between cities in a single day.

Therefore, the entire logistical system along the riverbank has been established very well. Even if the peace talks failed yesterday, the wizards are confident that they can establish a firm foothold here and repel the invading Papal forces.

For three months, the wizards conquered cities and territories while simultaneously restoring production and building infrastructure.

Along the vast River Angels, covering an area of ​​over 100,000 square kilometers, productivity has advanced from medieval levels to modern levels in just three months.

Even the railway tracks have been laid!
The wizards even laid a railway from the towns occupied by the revolutionaries to Greyfalcon City overnight!

Not only that, they also restored many factories near the power plant. If there had been a sufficient number of wizard apprentices and the locals were more educated, these factories would be operational today.

Everything happened like magic, it was unbelievable.

Roland had always known that wizards were very strong in this area, and that they even had the ability to reshape dimensional worlds.

But when the enormous monster known as the 'Eastern Wizard' fully awoke from its slumber and began to move with all its might, Roland was still startled by the commotion it caused.

In fact, in Namalod, he had witnessed wizards building a city in two hours and seeing the awe-inspiring sight of them turning the sea upside down.

However, none of these methods are intuitive enough to demonstrate the overall command capabilities of the Eastern Wizards.

But now Roland has seen everything firsthand and knows the terrifying war potential of the Eastern Territory.

He was frightened.

It's likely that even many wizards from the East didn't realize how formidable they were before the war.

It seems that the wizards' thoughtful suggestion to send the church delegation by train was simply a way to flex their muscles and show the Church of Light and Shadow what they were capable of.

Unfortunately, the people in the church couldn't understand it at all.

The church members had arrived long ago. Olivia seemed to have already gotten into the car with Helena and Joan; she could be seen through the window, head down, flipping through a book.

Sir Richard, the commander of the Crusaders, and his entourage stood in front of the platform, chatting and laughing with a group of wizards.

The wizard at the head of the group was the old man who sat next to Catherine during yesterday's negotiations; he was actually a senior member of the White Council.

The priests marveled at the changes in the old town overnight, but paid it no mind.

In their view, these were all bizarre and ingenious techniques.

They didn't even understand what forbidden angels meant; in their eyes, they were just powerful angels.

They simply couldn't comprehend the technological and productivity gap this represented. They were completely oblivious to the fact that, compared to the Eastern Territory, they were nothing more than a group of primitive people.

Therefore, the wizards were completely wasting their time.

However, while these bishops didn't understand the truly profound matters, they were extremely sensitive to politics.

Or rather, this group of people have spent their entire lives playing this game, and their greatest skill is infighting.

Today, the Dawn New Society has gradually moved closer to the gods and has gradually become one of their own.

In the future, when they have truly become one of their own and become part of the church under the Kingdom of Heaven, they will also enter the field that the Order of Light and Shadow excels at.

Compared to the changes in the old city, the bishops are more concerned about the Draculas who are now adorned in the robes of the Holy Blood Angels.

The overall strength of the high-level experts in the Eastern Territory is not much stronger than that of the Church. The two sides are in a relatively balanced state.

This time, the East did indeed swallow up the territories of the thirty-two kingdoms north of the river with lightning speed, but that was because they severed the connection between the gods and the believers, and then relied on the influence of the Old Church and Alaye.

Now, even the Draculas have joined the Dawnbringer under this influence. This has created a great sense of crisis for them.

They could see what this meant—judging from the information revealed by His Highness Olivia, Roland's investiture was a done deal.

This meant that the lives and fortunes of all the noble lords in the world would soon be in his hands. Since Protestantism replaced Catholicism, almost all the titles and fiefs of nobles were granted by Protestants in the name of Alaye.

After the gods crown Alaye with a new crown, he will gain unprecedented legitimacy.

Because he represents not only the secular world, but also the gods.

The Church had previously granted many lords to the King of Alaye. The King of Alaye could recognize their legitimacy, or he could question whether the Church's granting of certain lords was reasonable.

He declared whoever was an earl, and that person became an earl. He declared which land should be governed by which family, and that land belonged to that family.

If those lords are not recognized by the King of Alaye, then they only have two paths to choose from.

One option is to return everything that should never have belonged to him in the first place and become a commoner—the best-case scenario is to retain his title but lose his fiefdom.

Or they might fight back fiercely, only to be wiped out as rebels by the combined forces of the Church of Light and Shadow and the Dawn Society.

To question him is to question the gods, and to question all the churches in the world.

The Draculas were very clever. The Church had always coveted their land and questioned their legitimacy. So they seized the opportunity and sided with Alaye.

Alleya is clearly more authoritative than the Church of Light and Shadow.

The Church of Light and Shadow will remain even after the negotiations conclude. However, their situation will be extremely dangerous.

On a larger scale, they will no longer be able to gain worldly support in the future.

On a smaller scale, behind every bishop is a vast family and countless noble patrons. Whether these people are still nobles or still have fiefdoms is entirely up to the King of Alaye.

Therefore, for the Church, who will be the next King of Alaye is a matter of utmost importance.

They desperately wanted one of their chosen Alayes to replace Roland. Therefore, beneath the Church of Light and Shadow's calm acceptance of peace talks, a frenzied undercurrent was brewing.

At any time, someone might take risks for their own benefit.

However, some bishops believe that the Dracula family's proximity to Alaye is not necessarily a bad thing, nor is the growing power of Prince Alaye necessarily a bad thing.
At this moment, Richard and many bishops and priests saw Catherine and Roland approaching from a distance.

Numerous wizards surrounded Catherine like stars around the moon, with Duke Belinda and Sir Merlin further back.

The bishops didn't know much about Duchess Belinda, but they knew all too well about the 'Holy Blood Clan'.

Thousands of years ago, this branch known as the 'Holy Blood Clan' was one of the leading figures of the Shadow Cult within the Church of Light and Shadow. They ruled the dark world of the south and secretly had the support of many hells and abysses.

At that time, the Holy Blood Clan had a sect in the south. The Pope of the Church of Light and Shadow was a figure who was supported by the gods of light and the gods of darkness, and the position was held in rotation.

At that time, the Holy Blood Clan did not bear the curse of the gods; they were the moon (fourth tier) and stars (third tier) in the southern night.

Within the church, they are the angels of the dark gods among the united gods of light and shadow. In the secular world, they are important princes and grand dukes within the Holy Orbis Empire.

The Holy Blood Cult always has various ways to collect the will (faith) of the people. Their methods are extremely cruel, but as the top cult, the Heavenly Kingdom and the Church of Light and Shadow turn a blind eye to many of the things they do.

Until they began trying to devour the gods.

The Holy Blood Cult was transformed into a heretical sect, and all members of the Holy Blood Clan were regarded as demons.

They not only lost the protection of the dark gods, but were also cursed by the abyss.

The leader who attempted to devour the gods, named Durand (Wendysa's grandfather), died under the curse of the gods. Since then, no one above the second tier has ever appeared in the Holy Blood Clan.

The enormous Holy Blood Flower withered and died overnight. Under the Church's full-scale suppression, many elders of the Holy Blood Clan with the title of Duke died tragically. The remaining members, along with the Eternal Night Clan (werewolfs, night demons, etc.), the undead Clan, and many heretics, fled to the Eastern Territory.

The Shadow Cult within the Southern Church of Light and Shadow was thus completely destroyed and reduced to a dispensable sect.

After settling in the Eastern Territory, the Holy Blood Clan experienced several explosive growth periods, even triggering the 'Wolf Disaster' and 'Blood Disaster' which wreaked havoc throughout the entire Eastern Territory.

However, the Blood Clan was suppressed under the iron fist of the Twilight Council.

After that, the Twilight Council shackled the Bloodline Clan, strictly controlling their development.

This caused this enormous, top-tier power to gradually decline into a second-rate organization.

More than twenty years ago, the Black Abyss Clan absorbed these evil and cruel demons, and the entire Eastern Territory gradually loosened their shackles. They also released a portion of the Holy Blood Wizards to return to the south and develop their power.

Just as the wizards had expected, the Holy Blood Clan had made very rapid progress in cultivation. Although no high-level wizards had yet emerged, the number of formal wizards among them already accounted for one-seventh of the total number of formal wizards in the Eastern Territory.

Like a rising star, they quickly occupied an important position in the Eastern Territory.

Now, the Holy Blood Clan has produced another duke.

This Duchess named Belinda, though she has not yet touched the stars, already holds seats in the Council and Senate of the Eastern Territory.

The bishops were well aware that this duchess, along with the six earls behind her, were staunch confidantes of Catherine, the eldest princess of the East, the spokesperson for the God of Twilight and the God of Pure White, and the crown princess of the East.

The reason they rose so quickly and were able to hold their positions as leaders and heads of the Holy Blood Clan was partly because they had tried to use the power of a certain Abyss God to draw upon the divine power of the Goddess Heracles—these vile demons always tried to devour their masters.

Ironically, the abyss god they relied on was Heracles's 'old face' left behind in the abyss.

Another reason the Crown Prince of the East supported them was to counterbalance her husband, Roland Alleyer.

After all, the Holy Blood Clan worships the goddess Heraca, who has always been the most favored goddess of the Aleye royal family.

Since Belinda and other leaders had betrayed the goddess Heraca, they would never lead the Holy Blood Clan to side with Alaye.

On the surface, the couple appeared to be very harmonious. Although the wizards surrounded Princess Twilight, Prince Alaye stood in the back of the crowd.

But the princess would occasionally stop and ask the prince some questions.

It seemed she was deliberately trying to find a topic of conversation, hoping the prince would stand with him in front of the many bishops.

But those wizards were all so out of touch with reality—especially that one named Belinda.

Therefore, the princess and prince often hadn't walked together for long before the prince, like the princess's secretary, was neglected and relegated to the back of the crowd by Belinda and many other wizard lords.

It seems that this prince, who is about to hold the power of life and death over all the nobles and bishops in the south, is merely playing the role of a princess's secretary in the east.

What many bishops didn't know was that those who were shunning Roland were actually his staunch supporters. They did this to prevent Catherine and the Thousand-Eyed King from becoming suspicious of Roland.

What the die-hard fans didn't know was that Catherine and the Thousand-Eyed King were even more die-hard fans than they were. So they didn't need to act like that at all.
But they even included the bishops on the other side in their performance.

She even went so far as to fully embody Roland in the role later on. (End of Chapter)