Thousand-Faced Dragon

Chapter 320 New Order
After a storm, the weather is often nice, and after a period of turmoil, the city has become much more stable.

Walking through the streets of the dock district again, Rean felt a little out of place. He walked along without noticing a single crime!
"Thanks for your hard work."

"Sir, we heard about what happened yesterday, and we are very grateful to you."

"Is this Lord Rean? Please accept this bag of apples."

The two patrolling knights passing by seemed to indicate the reason.

Rean's acquisition of the front-line town did not mean that only the underground area became his fiefdom, but also that the adjacent dock area became his.

By indirectly gaining the power of law enforcement and administration, they essentially acquired control of the area.

The new order established by the paladins is far better than the past. Especially for most ordinary people, life is much better, and order often protects the weak.

Rean was somewhat surprised to find that he had unknowingly become a celebrity, with shops he passed by giving him small gifts. Unlike the protection money he received before, this time, although it carried a hint of flattery, Rean could tell that it was mostly heartfelt gratitude.

The improved security seems to be making their business better?

"Dimmon's Bonebreaker Gang occupies a third of the dock area. He collects very little protection money and actually provides 'protection,' and other organizations are following his example."

The improved safety has naturally boosted the economy, especially with the recent opening of various factories in the dock area, which have provided numerous job opportunities.

Many people's lives have been changed as a result, and many have seen an opportunity for change.

When everything is thriving, the beneficiaries will naturally thank those who brought about the change, and Rean is clearly one of the important factors.
"Spying Evil."

Rean casually tossed out a Detect Evil spell, and seeing that the other party didn't have any red aura, he accepted the apple under the shopkeeper's subtle expression.

"Don't send them next time. Although I'm probably quite resistant to the virus, it's still quite troublesome to scout them out."

Rean was quite disrespectful, but it was also to avoid trouble later.

These things are troublesome for him to handle, and they can easily give someone an opportunity to poison him.

However, the others looked completely at ease, which puzzled Rean. But when he saw a group of passing weaver paladins casually tossing away scouting spells for evil as they passed by, Rean understood.

"Uh, isn't this going a bit too far? They're dropping these spies on evil far too often."

Rean sensed something was wrong. Ordinary paladins only detect evil when they encounter suspected "evil," so why would they use this against a professional when it's been used so often as a regular skill? It's practically a declaration of war.

"They learned it from their teacher." Larry was probably the first in Rean's team to discover this problem.

There was a hint of resentment in her words, and she tried to correct herself, but the effect was obviously not very good.

"Their teacher? Oh, me?!"

Rean fell silent. He didn't think he had just randomly thrown out the detection spell; he was always certain the other party was evil.
"In the eyes of others, you abuse this divine power more than anyone else. Your stories, especially the two times you smashed up the slave market, have made them act more aggressively, and they all like to smash doors to detect evil."

Larry sighed. This really couldn't go on. Larry knew better than anyone that Rean was a strong and decisive knight, yet also a cunning one. Every seemingly reckless charge he made was a pre-planned outcome.

If these knights only learn the surface and play around like this, they could just throw something in a bar and it turns out to be some kind of evil high priest or human incarnation of a dragon, and they'd be in deep trouble.

In fact, it's not just the ordinary paladins; even the law knights have developed some bad habits.

Relying too much on supernatural power may not be a good thing. If the "Judgment of the Realm of Sin" could solve all problems, then the original Lawful Kingdom would not have collapsed. More important than the "Scales of Justice" itself are always the people who enforce the law. If one loses reason and judgment and relies solely on the judgment of "rules," one will sooner or later be fooled and make a grave mistake.

“They need professional training. Currently, a large number of new apprentices are joining the Order, and they will become the backbone of the future. If they also develop such a ‘tradition’, it will be terrible.”

Knights, as a masculine organization, often have some rather inexplicable "traditions" that are passed down continuously. Their fighting style is just one of the more common ones. If an organization acts so recklessly and its members are proud of it, problems are bound to arise sooner or later.

Larry tried to correct her in advance, but both Damon and Rean had overly strong personal styles, and her "reputation" was not as good as theirs, so she lacked persuasiveness. In fact, her noble knight status had already created a barrier between her and many knights of slave and commoner origin.

Rean fell silent; he had actually thought further ahead than Larry.

An organization or a force needs an "ideology." Simply saving slaves and gaining freedom is not impossible, but what happens after that is achieved?
The path of pure goodness is both simple and difficult to follow, because it is the path of one's true heart. It is easy to do good for a moment, but to do good for a lifetime requires a lot of "skills" and "persistence".

“Our knightly order needs some ideals, rules, and even faith, otherwise it will quickly become corrupt and no different from other powerful people. Systems are also necessary; we cannot simply rely on human nature’s desire for goodness, after all, human nature also has the instinct to fall.”

Rean recalled the great shepherd he had met at the slave market, and the prisoners in the front-line town, many of whom had once been devout shepherds of the benevolent gods.

Even when bound by faith and rules, people can become corrupted; how much more so when there are no constraints? Possessing power can cause one to swell rapidly, and the fall of paladins often stems simply from the arrogance of those who hold the reins of justice.

"We need some professionals."

Larry's advice was sincere, but Rean shook his head.

He wasn't denying Larry's suggestion; in fact, he agreed with it, he just...
"Never let these words come out of your mouth. Don't say them."

Larry is a knight of another church, and if she were to actively recruit "professionals" from other churches, it would certainly cause controversy.

Rean was having a headache. He wasn't interested in these things, but if left unchecked, they were bound to cause big problems.

An organization without a goal is destined to cause disaster.

"I can help you solve this little problem."

A sudden sound rang in his ears, but it came from Rean's heart.

"Do you have believers? Pastors or something?"

Rean remained somewhat hesitant. He couldn't fathom what this heroic spirit was thinking, and worried that it might end up with some kind of evil god's resurrection.

"I don't know. But our church probably doesn't exist anymore."

The answer was frank, but it exceeded Rean's expectations.

You, a god, don't even know if you have any followers?
"I am not the god of drama and pleasure; I am merely a mortal half-elf." The implication is that he is currently in his human form and therefore unaware of what lies beyond.

"Then how can you help me? You have no one to rely on."

Suddenly, the deity's human form uttered the names of more than a dozen organizations, including "The Evil Cross Federation, the Joyful Banquet, and the Historical Documents and Books Collection Association."

Some of them Rean seemed to have heard of, while others he had no recollection of at all.

"Some of them are seeds I planted back then, and some are indirect beliefs. As for whether or not we keep in touch, that's your business."

(End of this chapter)