Mercenary Wars

Chapter 144 Cardinal
Gaucano has decided to send the Red Dwarf's letter of goodwill to Bishop Fabian.

Unfortunately, Fabian is not at the Southshore Church today.

"When will Lord Fabian be at the church?" he asked a priest at the church.

The pastor shook his head: "Lord Fabian is unpredictable; no one knows when he will appear. If you want to see him, you'd better come every day—especially before meals."

Upon hearing this news, Gao Gano felt a bit of a headache.

The church would give breakfast to the poor at sunrise every day, which was in the early morning hours.

To see Fabien, you have to get up very early.

Fine!

Gao Jiano shook his head inwardly, said thank you, and prepared to leave.

But the pastor looked him over for a moment, then suddenly said, "Wait a minute."

"What's wrong?" Gao Jiano turned back again.

The pastor said, "Although Lord Fabien is not here, Lord Glemen will be giving a sermon this afternoon on the sacraments. You may consider attending."

Gaucano thought for a moment: "Are there any conditions?"

“Of course there are. After all, there are tens of thousands of Mosaics who want to see Lord Glemen, and the Southsea Town Church alone cannot accommodate them all,” the pastor said slowly. “Some people have traveled for days by carriage just to hear his sermons, so… you need to buy an admission ticket to attend the sermons.”

"How much are the tickets?" Gao Jiano asked.

“Twelve silver coins,” the priest added, “and they’re almost sold out.”

Twelve silver coins, equivalent to more than a month's income for an ordinary person, were enough to deter most people's curiosity about the cardinals, ensuring that only the most devout or wealthy could have the privilege of hearing Glemen's sermons.

However, Gaucano now has a fortune of several hundred gold coins, and twelve silver coins are nothing to him.

After a little consideration, he decided to buy a ticket and join in the fun, to watch the cardinal.

Who do I buy admission tickets from?

“You can buy it from me.” The pastor smiled slightly. “If you’re willing to pay a little more, you can also choose a front-row seat—sitting in the front row gives you the chance to talk to Lord Glemen.”

"No need, any seat is fine." Gao Jiano took out twelve silver coins and handed them over.

The priest accepted the silver coin and gave Gaucano a cardboard voucher.

Gaucano looked at the admission ticket.

The cardboard ticket had a triangle drawn on it, with "Redemption Order" written next to it, along with the time and place of the preaching, and of course the preacher's name—Glemen.

A few hours later.

Gaucano, holding his admission ticket, arrived at the nave of the church and sat in the last row.

Before long, all the hundreds of seats in the central hall were filled, and whispers could be heard from time to time.

Gaugano glanced around and then spotted a few familiar faces, such as Griff.

At this moment, Griff was sitting in the second row, with Leskova, the president of the Gavin Chamber of Commerce, in front of him.

Unsurprisingly, everyone here was well-dressed and polite, and most of them were upper-class people, or at least middle-class like Gao Jiano, especially the Gavin Chamber of Commerce members.

The whispers suddenly stopped.

But then, with the sound of a door being pushed open, Cardinal Glemen appeared in everyone's sight. Accompanied by some priests, he walked straight to the pulpit. His noble red robes immediately made the atmosphere solemn.

Bishop Glemen was tall with a square face and a noble and dignified air. He wore the cardinal's signature red priest's robe, and thick blond hair could be faintly seen under his bishop's hat, making him appear to be only middle-aged.

But it is almost certain that there is no one older than him in the entire central hall.

His real age was over a hundred years old, but for someone of the cardinal's level, the Elder's Elixir was readily available, and being over a hundred years old was still considered to be in his prime.

So despite his age, Glemen showed no signs of aging, and his voice was full of vigor: "First of all, let us thank the Lord for everything He has given us!"

The Mosas rose and, under his leadership, celebrated a Mass.

Mass is one of the most common sacraments, and devout Mossadists will attend Mass wherever they go to church, which sometimes reminds Gaucano of burning incense.

However, the specific process of Mass is much more complicated than burning incense. In addition to the daily routines such as chanting and praying, there is also a segment called "Holy Communion".

During communion, believers receive "fish cakes" from the pastor and eat them.

The fish cakes contained no fish; they were just dough shaped like fish. They didn't taste very good either, and Gaucano even frowned slightly while eating them. Fortunately, the priests prepared small fish cakes, clearly knowing that Glemen's audience wouldn't appreciate such coarse food; it was merely a ritualistic gesture based on religious tradition.

After the Mass ended and a brief opening address, Bishop Glemon began his sermon on the theme of "Sacraments".

The sacraments, also known as "sacraments," are the formal religious rites written in the Holy Scriptures. In addition to the common Mass, there are some less common ones, such as the baptism ceremony, which is performed only once in a lifetime.

Although Gaucano was not devout, as someone who grew up in a church, he was fairly knowledgeable about the sacraments and had heard countless sermons on them.

He had to admit that Glemen truly lived up to his reputation as a cardinal. His knowledge and preaching skills far surpassed any priest he had ever met before, and his words and actions were incredibly captivating.

As the sermon was nearing its end, Gao Jiano even felt a touch of religious emotion, a mixture of awe, emotion, and impulse.

The last time he had a similar feeling was probably during his ignorant and immature period in his previous life.

It was in this state that a few lines of information appeared in Gaucano's perception.

[Learn Level 1 Mosaic]

[Spirit +1] [Experience +5]

Gaucano was startled.

You can even learn skills from this?
Twelve silver coins were definitely worth it!
After a brief moment of surprise, he couldn't help but admire the cardinal's erudition once again.

After all, he had lived in the church for so many years without learning the "Sacrament of Mosa," but now Glemen had taught him this skill with just a few words.

Skills that boost one's spirit are quite rare; it seems I should do more sacraments in the future. Thinking this, a thought suddenly popped into Gaucano's head: Since there's the Sacrament of Mosa, are there also the Sacrament of Yemen and sacraments from other religions? If so, could I learn them all?
Amidst his reflections and reverie, Gaucano detached himself from his fleeting religious sentiments, regained his composure and rationality, and continued to listen to Glemen's sermon.

Glemen talked about many things, including sacraments and some personal opinions, such as criticism of pagans—or rather, a curse.

“My Lord is the way, my Lord is the ladder. Pagans who do not believe in Him have abandoned the way and ladder to heaven and will inevitably fall into hell!” Glemen’s voice rose and fell, echoing in the nave of the church.

“The property of infidels is not property, the lives of infidels are not lives… Their holy name is a sin to be cleansed, their blood is a golden ticket of redemption for you and me!” His words resonated with many people.

If it weren't for the atmosphere of the church and the reverence of the cardinal, the audience might have stood up and raised their arms in celebration. Even so, a murmur of discussion was inevitable.

"We should exterminate all heretics; the extermination of heretics is the path to salvation!"

"Those who believe in Yemen will go to hell!"

"Not only the Christians, but also the Muro religion in the East. The Pope should lead the holy army of Mosa across the Kiso Mountains to punish the Muro followers! Let them know that even the highest mountain cannot block the glory of Mosa!"

“That’s right, the Pope is too lenient with heretics, even…”

Bishop Glemen ignored the murmurs from the audience, maintaining a smile throughout until the end of his sermon.

"Lord Glemen, will you give another sermon?" someone in the front row asked impatiently.

Bishop Glemen responded, "Perhaps, but at least I won't be leaving Southsea Town for the time being."

Someone else asked, "Lord Glemen, do you intend to rally the Mossatians to retaliate against Dibto? They are shamelessly seizing Mossatian property!"

“That’s a matter for the Pope to decide,” Lord Glemen suddenly changed the subject. “No, not the Pope.”

The air suddenly became quiet.

Then Glemen smiled slightly, pointed to the sky, and said in a rising tone: "The one who is in charge is Mosa, only Mosa can be in charge—the Lord of all!"

"Clap clap clap!" The audience erupted in enthusiastic applause.

Only Gaucano frowned slightly.

He felt that Glemen's words seemed to have some deeper meaning.

But Glemen clearly had no intention of explaining further. After speaking, he walked away amidst applause and farewell from the crowd, his figure slowly disappearing behind the closing wooden door...

In the following days, Gaucano would come to the church every morning to keep watch over another cardinal, Fa, the penitent Bion.

He is a hardworking person, but it has been a long time since he has gotten up this early for a long time.

Persistence pays off. Finally, one early morning, when Gaucano arrived at the church entrance, he looked up and saw a gaunt old man sitting on the ground.

The old man was wearing a dirty and tattered ochre linen robe, his hair was unkempt and sparse, and he had a tuft of beard on his chin. He looked like an ordinary beggar.

Gaucano had mistaken him for an ordinary beggar last time.

But this time he won't make the same mistake again.

Not only because he had learned his lesson, but more importantly, this beggar sitting on the ground was being surrounded by a large group of people.

Without a doubt, this was Cardinal Fabien.

Fabian's audience consisted mostly of commoners—clearly indicated by their clothing—but there were also a few wealthy individuals, such as the bishop of Southsea.

Of course, the Bishop of Southsea Town was not necessarily a supporter of Fabien, after all, he was also present when Glemen preached a few days earlier.

Gaucano stepped forward and sat down on the ground like all the other listeners to listen to Fabian's sermon.

Compared to Glemen, Fabien's sermons were much simpler, even somewhat vulgar.

For example, the passage that impressed Gaucano the most was Fabian's saying: "How terrifying is the sight of the strong preying on the weak. If you only have one holy name, then when you face the unpleasantness of a twelve-level named one, you can do nothing. He can crush you as easily as he would an insect."

Then he changed the subject: “But fortunately we have the Lord. Mosa created everything, including morality and law… Under the protection of morality and law, we don’t have to really become insects. Even if you don’t have a single holy name, those powerful named ones won’t harm you at will.”

In an otherwise ordinary world, when ordinary people are driven to desperation, they can choose to rebel. Although it is dangerous, it still has the potential to overthrow everything, since even the noblest person has a fragile life.

But Ferraro is a world where extraordinary powers exist, and the gap between people can reach unbelievable levels, and it is all-encompassing.

The difference between level one and level two may not be obvious, but the difference between level one and level ten is like heaven and earth.

Even setting aside the tenth level, Gaucano himself, with his fifth-level holy name, could already kill ordinary people as easily as slaughtering dogs.

God and faith have indeed played a significant role in enabling such a world to maintain universal morality and law.

For example, those of higher rank would almost never harm those of much lower rank without cause; otherwise, they might not only be judged by the church, but also face divine punishment, with very serious consequences.

Of course, this applies to fellow believers. As for non-believers, mercy and compassion are basically non-existent; in fact, many people believe that killing non-believers is akin to accumulating merit, the more the better.

For example, oaths: the Mossites swear by Mosa, or the Jemenites swear by Jemen, carry more weight than oaths made on the lives of their entire families, which to some extent maintains integrity.

Fabian continued speaking until a man who looked like a beggar suddenly asked, "You're a cardinal, yet you dress like us. Aren't you being hypocritical?"

The scene fell silent for a moment.

Some people's faces showed fear, some showed anticipation, and some showed anger.

A priest sitting next to Fabian suddenly stood up, clenched his fist, and was about to walk towards the beggar.

Fabian, however, reached out and stopped him, calmly gesturing for him to sit down. Then, looking at the beggar, he said indifferently, "You are right. I can have countless riches. To me, the potion is as cheap as ale. My ragged clothes and asceticism are hypocrisy, utter hypocrisy."

His response completely surprised everyone, and the air froze for several seconds.

Gao Jiano was also stunned.

He couldn't understand why the beggar was so bold, nor could he understand why Fabian would give such an honest yet abstract reply.

Until Fabian continued, “But I swear to Mosa, I will remain a hypocrite forever, forever wearing the same clothes as you, eating the same food as you, and walking barefoot on the earth that my Lord created…”

"This will constantly remind me of the suffering of people around the world," he said calmly.

(End of this chapter)