Thousand-Faced Dragon

Chapter 337 Self-restraint
"She agreed to act as an informant for you?" Dania was a little surprised that Victoria had this kind of ability.

"Not only her, but also her dolls."

"Doll?"

"She can bring them back to life. Her power is very special. Those creations are more like fragments of her soul. A normal person would have died long ago if they did that, but the parts she separated can actually regenerate."

To create life out of thin air, or to create an entire race by one's own power, is a force so outrageous that just imagining it is enough to make one feel its absurdity.

Perhaps she is not strong enough now, but once those "clones" grow up, she alone will be an army, or even an entire race.

Rean felt a strange sense of satisfaction, like he had just randomly drawn a card and gotten an extremely rare SSR.

"You can't say that. She has great potential; perhaps she was the sole heir to the heroic spirit from the very beginning."

The only limitation to Victoria's current ability to create clones is that these "newcomers" cannot stray too far from her, otherwise they will gradually lose their activity and fall back into a deep sleep.

Rean tried it out, and the infiltration plan was indeed possible to execute. She could specify the transformation in a particular direction, similar to the fairy tale of turning a rag doll into a living person.

"Uh, could she turn living people into rag dolls? It seems quite possible." Rean thought of the jars in the shop, which contained shrunken versions of thugs who had come to cause trouble and ended up being locked up.

After thinking it over, Rean shook his head and decided not to dwell on it anymore.

He vaguely realized that even if Victoria was not chosen by the Heroic Spirits, she was destined to rise. Her ability to "digest" the inheritance of the Heroic Spirits and turn it into nourishment for her own growth was enough to prove her potential.

Her seemingly unambitious and even somewhat timid personality might be a weakness for other professions, but for an alchemist who needs to accumulate experience and hone her skills over time, it could be her greatest advantage. To put it bluntly, alchemy is a profession where the longer you study, the stronger you become. Since she doesn't like to cause trouble, she might just quietly climb to the top of the world.

"She agreed with my opinion. It seems that once the new church is established, it's not realistic to just leave it running. I don't have the energy to manage and develop the church. It seems that we still need to plant some spies in it."

History has proven that the rate at which religious figures can be corrupted is astonishing; once the church reaches a certain level, it is very likely that there are far more corrupt members than devout ones.

Even the Church of True God, though slightly better in some ways, still has its limitations. With near-unlimited power, wealth, and strength in their hands, even kings and emperors must maintain respect for them or look up to them. One wrong step could lead to utter depravity.

God's "observation" is limited, and often He doesn't actually care about the "purity" of earthly shepherds. Since they are "tools" for spreading the faith, He will naturally care about their effectiveness and whether they can better spread the faith and doctrine.

Therefore, the bizarre situation in certain artistic creations is real. The situation where the lower class is cheap and devout while the upper class is corrupt is indeed possible. However, it is very likely that the lower class has not yet had time to be corrupted.

“I do not expect them to be pure forever, nor do I expect them to be fundamentally different from other churches. I only hope that in the time when I, Rean Sudar, am alive, they will be controllable and useful tools.”

Rean doesn't test human nature, much less whether a person who was originally pure will be corrupted by time and greed. The answer is, of course, they will be corrupted!
Human nature is not worth testing at all. Only a very few saints can withstand the test of time and desire, and the fact that they can be called saints shows how extremely rare they are.

Privileged groups like the church and nobles, which have virtually no constraints, become corrupt as a matter of course once they develop for a period of time, while holiness and integrity become the exception.

Rean intends to plant a seed of trouble, ensuring positive development for at least twenty years—no, ten years will suffice.

"That shouldn't be too difficult. Those small startup groups are still quite innocent, at least in the early stages."

Rean didn't rely entirely on Victoria and her companions; he had another option. "Lia, as Ophelia's 'derivative,' also has the authority to enter the Heroic Soul Realm, but with the closure of the Kuku Realm, she didn't meet the other Heroic Soul candidates inside."

Two or even three spies, Rean thought that was enough. According to the "script" he provided, the three spies would quarrel and fight for the right to speak. In that case, whoever the new successor was, they would be forced to dance on the stage.

"Uh, did I go a little too far?"

Looking back, Rean still hesitated, wondering if he had gone too far. The other party hadn't even arrived yet, and he had already planned to do this much.

"I don't think you're enough. If the successor of the heroic spirit who comes is truly a future core member of a church's leadership, then this level of restriction is even less effective than the constraints that ordinary deities place on the church's leadership."

Victoria only told half the story. "The constraints that ordinary deities place on the church's higher echelons" = "Those who are corrupt will still be corrupt."

"Let's take it one step at a time. I originally only planned to establish a banner and borrow some power to strengthen the Holy Knights."

The real pressure and expectations come from Dania, who, despite being a chosen one, is unusually not of one mind with the gods.

As the queen here, she longs for a balance of power among her forces. The recent influx of the Mirror Maiden's forces has already created conflict between her and the original Church of the Good God. Some of their demands, which she sees as excessive (a certain foolish matriarch demanding that the kingdom convert to the state religion), have made her position even more difficult.

The Benevolent Church, which can maintain a balance with the Church of God, tends to be more cautious. Most of them are marginalized individuals exiled from the main body. As long as they don't cause trouble for the main body, the higher-ups are too lazy to bother with them. Such conflicts of interest with the Church of True God can be considered "trouble".

“I don’t mind becoming a weapon, at least it proves I have value. But isn’t it a bit too early to confront the Dark Elf Church now?”

A public falling out is unlikely, but when both churches begin to interfere with mortal authority, it will naturally put the king at ease. Dania does have the leverage to turn her back on him, but there's really no need to break things off now.

This is why Rean's false god church, which had not yet been established, had already received the kingdom's secret support.

Dania even privately promised to help arrange for several high-ranking paladins to enter the new church.

High priest? No, this thing is highly bound to the gods, and is basically in the shape of the gods. If you switch churches, even if you don't start over, it's equivalent to being completely distorted, and you're often not far from falling into depravity and madness.

"Let's add another batch of mages," Rean thought to himself, feeling that it seemed like he could actually manage it.

The "Solar Realm" is the most special realm. It provides a lot of empowerment and empowerment magic, and it is helpful to many spellcasters. If I discuss it with my mentor, I might actually be able to create a "Hymn Team/Holy Mage Team".

Just as the strongest elemental lightning mage is a priest and mage in the Storm domain, the strongest fire mage might also be directly linked to the Sun domain. In any case, the priest's abilities are, in a sense, "given by the gods," and won't affect the mages' daily research.

Rean's actions were twofold: on the one hand, to meet the needs, and on the other hand, to minimize the pastors' influence in all aspects, as he had little confidence in those pastors.

What was bound to happen would happen sooner or later. After preparing as much as possible, Rean also ushered in the moment of the inheritance of the heroic spirit.

This time, however, the number of successful inheritors is shockingly low.

(End of this chapter)