I, the prince in distress, send money

Chapter 407 They want to rebel?

Princess Phyllis left Anvil Fortress with an indescribable sense of frustration and a hint of cold anger.

Chris's unyielding attitude rendered her carefully prepared rhetoric and any remaining bargaining chips practically worthless.

However, the matter did not end there. Shortly after Phyllis's delegation left, two solemnly worded requests for an audience, bearing personal signatures, arrived on Chris's desk almost simultaneously.

A document from the Church of Mother Earth, signed by the newly appointed High Priest Byron Thorne.

The other one came from the Church of the Goddess of Agriculture, and was signed by High Priestess Lydia, whom Chris knew well.

Chris frowned slightly as he looked at the two requests.

He had not yet formally met the new leader of the Church of the Earth Mother, but he had a deep impression of Lydia, the young priestess, because of the player's photos... though he had never met her.

Now that both high priests from the two major churches, whose conflicts are irreconcilable, have come together, it means that what's behind this is no small matter.

So, after a moment's thought, Chris agreed to the meeting.

The next day, the heavy door to the small reception room was pushed open again.

This time, instead of a meticulously dressed princess, two religious leaders dressed in their respective church robes entered.

Byron Thorne, the new high priest of the Church of Mother Earth, was an elderly man who looked to be in his fifties.

He was tall and slightly hunched, as if he had been bending over to observe the earth for many years. His face was weathered and his deep wrinkles resembled furrows in a plowed field. His gray hair was neatly combed.

Byron wore a heavy, simple robe made of dark brown coarse linen.

The High Priestess Lydia, walking beside him, presented a stark contrast. She was young, in her early twenties, not yet thirty, with delicate features, but not the pampered white complexion of a noblewoman. Instead, she had the wheat-colored skin typical of farmers, kissed by the sun.

Her ceremonial robe was made of soft, light green linen, and its style was equally simple and plain, with only silver patterns symbolizing new shoots and ears of wheat embroidered on the collar and cuffs.

The two entered the cold, simple stone chamber, which was almost devoid of any superfluous decorations, and performed a solemn and concise religious ceremony for Chris without taking turns.

"Your Highness the Regent."

High Priest Byron's voice was deep and resonant.

"Thank you for taking the time to meet with me."

High Priestess Lydia followed closely behind, her voice clear and bright.

"Your Highness is well."

Her wheat-colored face held genuine respect, but also a hint of barely perceptible urgency... The Church of the Goddess of Agriculture had been having a tough time lately.

As for why, the Church of the Goddess of Agriculture has some clues, but is not quite sure.

Chris gestured for them to sit down, and the clerk silently stepped forward to serve them hot tea, the wisps of steam standing out clearly in the cold air.

Without much small talk, High Priest Byron spoke first, getting straight to the point.

“Your Highness, we have come here today because of an imminent threat: the Lamia snake people who are entrenched in the Suvano region of the Kingdom of Minicia.”

Chris leaned back in the hard back of the high-backed chair, his fingers lightly tapping the equally hard armrests. He didn't speak, but gestured for him to continue with his eyes. Lydia took over the conversation, her voice slightly tense with worry.

“Your Highness, when we accompanied Advisor Polka to Suvano last time, we discovered that these snake people from outside the Greek mainland were no ordinary beasts. They were cunning and cruel, and even more terrifying, their very existence was poisoning the land and all living things!”

She leaned forward, her hands instinctively gripping her knees, her knuckles turning slightly white from the force.

"Before the retreat, our priests of the Church of the Goddess of Agriculture observed that the land of the siege camp near the border of Suvano was being eroded by an inexplicable, cold force. Plants touched by the snake people would wither and rot at the roots. Your Highness, this is an evil contamination brought by the snake people."

High Priest Byron nodded solemnly and added.

"After the Dirac Expeditionary Force withdrew, the Church of the Earth Mother Goddess also received intelligence from the Suvano region."

After the expeditionary force left, the snake people did not leave. Instead, they began attacking villages, abducting people as slaves and food. They were carrying out blasphemous rituals, trying to turn fertile land into a poisonous swamp and twist forests into nightmarish shapes.

If left unchecked, this filth will not only engulf the entire Suvano region, but will also spread like a plague, ultimately threatening Bagnia's borders.

Lydia added hastily, her delicate face full of anxiety.

“Your Highness, if the snake people’s contamination continues to spread, not only will Minicia face famine, but our grain-producing areas bordering Bagnia will also be in grave danger. The wind will bring toxic spores, and the underground water veins are interconnected. We must not allow our bountiful land to become a dead zone!”

The words of the two high priests, especially Lydia's vivid and horrific description of the pollution, echoed in the cold, hard stone chamber, bringing a more substantial and heavy pressure that was quite different from Princess Phyllis's political appeals.

High Priest Byron straightened his back, which was slightly hunched from years of serving the earth, and looked directly at Chris with his brown eyes, his tone carrying an unquestionable sense of sacred mission.

"Your Highness, the Lamia serpent people and the dark forces behind them are a fundamental blasphemy against the life and order protected by Gaia, the Earth Mother, and Demeter, the Goddess of Agriculture. Their existence threatens all living beings that depend on the land for survival, regardless of national borders."

He paused, his voice becoming even more serious.

"Therefore, our two great churches hereby implore Your Highness to allow us to organize a joint holy crusade composed of defense soldiers, priests, and devout believers who volunteer to join."

Lydia followed up immediately, her voice clear and bright, carrying the resolute determination of a farmer when facing pests, determined to eradicate them completely.

“Yes, Your Highness, we need to enter the Suvano region to purify the land desecrated by the snake people, destroy their lair, and end their atrocities. This is for the suffering people of Minicia, and even more so to protect the land on which we all depend for survival and the foundation of our bountiful harvest. We humbly request Your Highness's permission for our holy expedition!”

She placed her hands together in front of her chest, representing the position of the emblem of the goddess of agriculture, her posture earnest and resolute.

The small reception room fell silent again. Chris's gaze slowly swept across the faces of the two high priests. Byron's calm and profound demeanor, and Lydia's eager sincerity, were clearly reflected in his deep, pool-like eyes.

Chris picked up the half-cooled cup of black tea, took a sip, and the bitter taste spread across his tongue. He put the cup down, the porcelain making a soft "tap" against the hardwood tabletop, a sound that was particularly clear in the silence.

then……

"No!!!"

"what!?"

"Ah."

Chris was too lazy to talk to the two of them anymore; these two guys weren't even listening to what he had just said.

He will need to send someone to investigate whether anyone has been in contact with the two churches in private.

(End of this chapter)