I, the prince in distress, send money

Chapter 395 Warnings and Reprimands

Chris silently scrutinized his fiancée, Elena Tia, whom he had not yet met.

Through player reviews and Elena's own actions, he gained a comprehensive understanding of Elena.

Chris felt nothing for his fiancée, whom he had never met; in fact, he felt somewhat indifferent. The image of Elena Tia in the report gradually became clearer in his mind, but it didn't stir any emotion within him.

A typical aristocratic elite woman.

This was the almost cold conclusion Chris finally reached.

In short, as long as she's alive, that's all that matters. For a freebie from Guano Island, Chris doesn't have high expectations for her.

As for her personal ambitions to establish herself in the court and seek influence in the military?
Chris watched all this but didn't care... As long as she didn't cause any big trouble or affect the overall situation, let her do whatever she wanted. The flapping of a caged bird wouldn't attract the attention of the Lord of the Sky.

As for who is in charge of the big picture?

It's the player's gaming environment, of course!
In short, nothing major happened on the player's expeditionary force side, so Chris temporarily shifted his attention to domestic affairs and the Northeast Army Group.

Just then, the clerk knocked on his office door.

“Your Highness, Priest Crawford of the Church of the Earth Mother requests an audience. He says he has an urgent matter to report to you in person.”

Chris looked away from the map of the Kingdom of Minicia and frowned slightly.

Priest Crawford of the Church of the Earth Mother?
His sudden request for an audience without prior appointment—is the Church of the Goddess of Agriculture up to its old tricks again?

Thinking of this, he put down his pen and said in a deep voice.

"Let him in."

The heavy wooden door was pushed open, and Priest Crawford walked in.

The plump priest Crawford, with a smile on his face, still looked the same as when he first met Chris, wearing a faded brown linen robe.

Chris was quite fond of him because of his appearance.

As for whether it was just a show, Chris couldn't say for sure. He heard that after reporting the mischief of the Church of the Goddess of Agriculture, this chubby priest's status within the Church of the Goddess of Earth jumped three levels, making him a high-ranking figure in the church.

Even if it's just a show, as long as Priest Crawford maintains his demeanor in front of Chris and where he can't see him, he's a good person.

Conversely, if someone says one thing to the public and another behind their back, and the players and Chris find out about it... then Priest Crawford is doomed to disgrace and social death.

"Good day, Your Highness Chris. May the earth be bountiful and life continue."

Crawford gestured a blessing to Chris with a beaming smile.

"Good day, Priest Crawford, please have a seat."

Chris gestured to the chair next to him and got straight to the point.

"Has something important happened?"

Crawford didn't dare keep him in suspense. He quickly sat down, placed his hands on his knees, leaned forward slightly, and looked serious.

“Your Highness, I have come on the orders of the High Priest of the Church to deliver an extremely important and urgent divine warning.”

He took a deep breath to calm himself down.

"Just yesterday, our Lord Mother Earth sent down a decree, which revealed that a corrupt force originating from overseas, which blasphemes against life and the natural order, has successfully broken through the outer sea blockade set up by the gods and landed on the Greek continent."

Chris's gaze instantly became incredibly focused, his body tensed slightly, and his fingers unconsciously tapped the armrest.

"Foreign heretics? Landing location?"

"The oracle clearly stated."

Crawford's voice carried a hint of anger.

"This filthy tide made landfall on the coast within the territory of the Kingdom of Minicia."

The coast of Minicia!?
Chris's heart sank.

This is no coincidence!

Crawford continued, his tone growing increasingly somber.

"The oracle also warned that this breakthrough was by no means accidental. The Greek continent has always been closed and xenophobic. Those heretics were able to successfully break through, most likely... with the help of an inside agent!"

After a pause, the priest Crawford spoke frankly.

"Although the oracle did not explicitly state it, the church leadership deduced that there were two prime suspects."

Firstly, there was the Church of the Sea God in the Kingdom of Minicia; only they could possess the crucial knowledge or power to circumvent or weaken the blockade of the outer seas.

"Poseidon Church..."

Chris repeated in a low voice, somewhat skeptical... Would the Church of the Earth Mother be trying to undermine its future rivals at this time?

With the stability of the Bagnian Kingdom's rule over the three newly occupied provinces, the local people's worship of Poseidon inevitably came to the fore.

In the countryside, wild sea god priests, appearing out of nowhere, secretly serve the sea god's followers. Among them are not only tenant farmers, but even some soldiers of the Blue Banner Army cannot refuse them.

Chris was aware of this situation, but he did not react in any way... such as publicly declaring that Poseidon was an evil god and that no one was allowed to contact the Church of Poseidon.

Chris now suspects that Crawford, this seemingly honest and simple fat man, is trying to smear the Church of Poseidon with half-truths.

The real issue is that there was indeed an invasion by overseas heretics; the fake issue is that the Church of the Sea God was involved.

Seemingly sensing Chris's suspicion, the priest Crawford leaned forward, his tone earnest and urgent.

“Your Highness! The nature of this heretical force is not yet fully clear, but our Lord’s oracle is filled with disgust and warning, describing it as a ‘rotten swamp that erodes the very foundation of life.’ These heretics are no ordinary bandits or pirates; their power must be evil!”

Chris remained silent, the only sound in the office being the rhythmic tapping of his fingers on the armrest.

For some reason, he felt that this matter should have something to do with Charles. The priest Crawford did not mention it, but Chris felt that the idea of ​​introducing an external enemy gave him a very familiar feeling.

"Thank you for the important warning, High Priest."

Chris finally spoke, his voice as steady as ever, leaving the priest Crawford unable to discern anything further.

“I am sincerely grateful for the warning from the Church of Mother Earth.”

Chris emphasized the word "church" in his words, and the priest Crawford understood the implication, immediately breaking into a bright smile.

Why was the Church of the Earth Mother in such a hurry to send Priest Crawford to deliver the message after receiving the divine oracle?

Isn't it just to let Prince Chris know the stance of their Church of the Earth Mother?
To be honest, the Church of Mother Earth Goddess has been living a very comfortable life lately. During the civil war, the church's influence was limited to the small town of Bagnia. Due to the population, the church's upper limit was limited, and no matter how much it was explored, it would not change much.

They tried to expand outwards, but failed repeatedly and never succeeded.

Over time, the higher-ups of the Church of Mother Earth lost their ambition and became content with their own little world.

After the civil war, with a large number of high-ranking officials killed, and then being reprimanded twice by Prince Chris, they suddenly discover...

Sigh, how come the church's influence has expanded overseas? They went to Minicia, snatched the followers of Poseidon, the sea god, and seem to be doing quite well, creating quite a few extra job openings!
Nobody's a fool. The church's higher-ups gathered for a meeting, and after summarizing the situation, they discovered the reason... It was Prince Chris! Without Prince Chris leading the army out to conquer the Kingdom of Minicia and the Empire of Leteria, how could the Church of the Earth Mother have had the opportunity to expand into the Sea God's territory?
As for the Church of the Goddess of Agriculture?

Oh, this competitor is no surprise. They're so stupid. They haven't even done anything yet, and they've already made a series of mistakes, ruining Prince Chris's image and letting the Church of the Earth Mother reap the benefits.

Now that the reason for the church's prosperity has been discovered, the leaders are naturally striving to seize this opportunity and continue their efforts.

After Priest Crawford left in high spirits, Chris stayed in his office, recalling every move and word the priest had made from the moment he entered until he left. Finding nothing amiss, he called out.

"Secretary."

"I'm here."

"Go and call my occult advisor, and have him come over now."

"clear."

The occult consultant arrived slowly; Chris waited in his office for a full two hours, during which time he also processed more than a dozen documents before the door was knocked on again.

"Come in."

"Good day, Your Highness Chris. May your life be ever full."

Before Chris could even see who it was, the visitor's greeting rang out.

The newcomer was none other than Polka Savin... that unlucky mage who owed a favor to Count Dirac at the time, which led to a fight between him and the High Priestess of the Earth Mother at Bolas Fortress, and who was ultimately taken advantage of by the player.

After joining Chris's team and becoming a consultant on mysticism/magic, he lived a comfortable and fulfilling life.

At first, Polka was afraid that the prince would order him to the battlefield, because his life force had been drained in the battle with the high priest.

But after waiting anxiously for a long time, Polka realized he had worried too much... Why would Chris, with his army of players at his disposal, need a magician to risk his life?

He could bring a few more tiger-squat cannons to the battlefield and they would all serve the same purpose.

So Polka lived a very carefree life under Chris's command. Apart from occasionally having to answer some questions from the latter and making some pretty but impractical gadgets, he could do whatever he wanted.

Chris doesn't restrict Polka's personal freedom, pays her a high monthly salary, lets her be a groom every day, and even allows her to conduct magical experiments.

So much so that Polka didn't want to leave after recovering.

Why are you leaving?

He was quite carefree here, although it was inconvenient to conduct magical experiments or learn new magical knowledge. However, through Marquis Dirac's connections, he was still able to occasionally contact the outside world of Greece and buy a few magic books.

So, although his personal skills and knowledge didn't improve much, his life was so comfortable that Polka didn't want to leave at all.

Now that Prince Chris needed him, Polka rushed over from Bagnia as quickly as possible.

"Your Highness, I..."

"Something happened today, can you help me analyze it, clerk..."

Chris had the scribe beside him repeat what the priest Crawford had said, and Polka shook his head after listening.

"That's too general, Your Highness. As far as I know, there are many races and forces outside of the Greek continent that are associated with filth and swamps, which are considered 'filth' and 'rotten swamps' by the gods."

"So what's your opinion?"

Chris nodded and asked.

Polka thought about it seriously.

"We don't need to worry too much about the Northern Expeditionary Force, but the troops in the Northeast coastal region may encounter this unknown force."

To be honest, the so-called barrier of the gods is really nothing special. I didn't encounter much trouble when I came in. The reason why people from overseas don't come to the Greek mainland is simply because there is no magic here, and secondly, there are no magical raw materials worth the risk.

Finally, the churches here are incredibly fierce; if discovered, they'll be attacked and killed. And if a large number of people arrive, the gods of the sky will shamelessly descend to bully the weak.

"So, this so-called large-scale landing by heretics really did have the assistance of the Church of the Sea God?"

Chris noticed the key point, and after careful consideration, Polka nodded.

"It is highly likely that without the assistance of the priests of the Church of the Sea God, the incessant storms off the coast of the Greek mainland alone would be enough to cause foreign ships to lose their way or even sink to the bottom of the sea."

At this point, Chris became curious.

"What were you like before... I mean, when you came here? If it's inconvenient, let's skip this topic."

"There's nothing inconvenient about it."

Polka said.

"I first approached by large ship, then took a small boat into the storm-blocked sea area, and forced my way in using magic... Then, because I exhausted my magic power, I almost drowned, and was rescued at sea."

"It was Lord Dirac's ship that saved me."

"Oh……"

Chris knew long ago that Dirac had connections at sea because he had a good relationship with the Tia family of the Kingdom of Minicia, which allowed him to know that the Hisoka family was hiding a lot of things.

Chris didn't pursue this matter. It was someone else's private property. Why would someone actively inquire so much about it when the other person hadn't made any mistakes?
"Polka, I'd like you to lead a team to help Marquis Dirac. Do you have any questions?"

"No, Your Highness."

Polka perked up; after waiting so long, it was finally time for him to get to work.

"When to set off?"

he asked.

"The sooner the better. I don't need you to take action personally. You can be my advisor. If needed, you can issue missions to the accompanying guards... I will arrange for a team of capable warriors to go with you. Leave the fighting and killing to them."

"clear."

"Oh, yes."

Before Polka left, Chris thought of something.

"Before you leave, go to the Church of the Goddess of Agriculture. I will write you a warrant. Take their high priest with you. The Church of the Earth Mother Goddess will also send someone to go with you."

"Ah, why?"

Polka was somewhat frightened. He had almost died from exhaustion after his previous battle with the high priest of the Earth Mother Goddess, which left him with a psychological trauma regarding the various churches on the Greek continent.

"If you encounter something that requires mysterious power to solve, you can ask the high priest of the Church of the Goddess of Agriculture to come up. The people of the Church of the Earth Mother Goddess will help you supervise their work."

"Will they listen to me?"

Polka's eyes widened.

"Yes...they will listen."

(End of this chapter)