I, who was eager to retire, became an Imperial General.

Chapter 315 The Pure Plan, the Deal is Made

Faum agreed to hand over the prisoners to him.
John was filled with surprise upon hearing this answer.

From a political standpoint, if this behavior were seen by the conservatives, it would be tantamount to indicating that the religious order intends to support the reformists.

This will only make the religious groups, which should be in a neutral position, the target of the conservative party.

As the root cause of this incident, Famy will inevitably face hostility from the other archbishops within the Church and even the Pope.

Although as the only Grand-ranked powerhouse in the Order, no matter how dissatisfied she was, the Order's higher-ups could not directly abolish her position as Archbishop, but reducing the power in her hands would be inevitable.

Even from a benevolent perspective, John felt that he and the archbishop, who had been trying to subvert the order's internal rule, had never had any contact, and this was only their first meeting.

Faced with a complete stranger like him, the other party would never risk losing their own interests out of kindness and choose to lend him a helping hand.

Therefore, whether from a standpoint of principle or from the perspective of that absurd goodwill, he did not believe that the other party had any reason to do so.

So, does the other party have ulterior motives?
Or is it that the other party wants to get something in return from me?
John pondered silently, his doubts growing stronger.

But soon, as if he had thought of something, he paused for a moment, then suddenly looked up at Famous in front of him.

As if guessing what John was thinking, Faure immediately smiled and nodded, but his tone was full of seriousness:

“That’s right. The main reason I’m handing these seven assassins over to you is because some unexpected changes have occurred within the cult.”

"I only learned about the incident today from Your Majesty the Demon King regarding your unexpected attack at the Stargazing Spire by someone disguised as the first nun of the Holy Light Cult."

"Although the assassin has been executed by His Majesty the Demon King, as the head of the Hand of Light, I must apologize to you for the Order's failure to properly guard against the cultists, which led to their infiltration of the capital and your attack, which nearly resulted in your injury!"

After speaking, to everyone's astonishment, the archbishop, who was revered and loved by countless people, actually disregarded his noble status and bowed to John.

"No need for apologies, Your Excellency Archbishop. After all, the matter has been resolved, hasn't it?"

Although he was surprised that Famille would apologize to him on the spot, John felt for some reason that there was something strange about Famille's words.

After all, if things were really as Famille said, then why didn't Trotsky notice and stop it immediately?

Instead, he allowed the nun to attack him?
In addition, considering the unknown conversation the other party had before he withdrew from the Stargazing Spire, could he also interpret it as Trotsky making a deal with some unknown mysterious person for some reason?

That's why he tacitly allowed the attack on him to proceed?
The reason Trolowski intervened later was that he realized the other party's purpose was different from what he had expected, and that it would endanger the outbreak of the curse. That's why he really intervened and, as Famille said, stopped the attack and killed the strange nun.

At this moment, under the weight of these reports, the truth of which was unknown, given by Faum, John felt as if he were shrouded in a fog, unable to discern the truth at all.

But after a brief moment of thought, he quickly put those thoughts out of his mind.

For him, the truth of the attack is actually not important.

The important thing is that he needs to get the captured Allied special operations force members from Faum as soon as possible, and find Anna and find a way to lure her to his side.

Once he gains the loyalty of this true protagonist of the game, whose basic stats are all rated SS+ or higher, he can then delegate a lot of menial tasks to him, thus preparing for retirement earlier.

As for Famous's deliberate attempt to please me, was it to express his apology or did he have some other purpose?

Before focusing on acquiring Anna, the ultimate SSR character, we can completely ignore this for now!
"Thank you for your kindness and understanding, Your Excellency John."

Famille stood up again with a sigh, and then, as if she didn't see the urgency in John's eyes, she did not send someone to bring the seven assassins to her for the handover, as John had wished.

Instead, he let out a soft sigh, feigning annoyance, before slowly speaking:

"To be honest, I never imagined that the religious order I have always believed in would turn out like this."

"As the empire developed, a large number of mid-level believers were blinded by self-interest, to the point that they lost their loyalty to the Lord, and even allowed cultists to infiltrate the capital and attack important officials of the empire."

“This situation truly pains me, and it also makes me realize that reforms within the Order are urgently needed!”

After saying that, as if he had thought of something, Famiao smiled slightly, and then raised his right hand slightly without hesitation.

The next second, accompanied by a surge of terrifying magic power emanating from her body, in an instant, a sacred and majestic domain enveloped and covered the entire inner hall.

"!"

The instant the Faum unfolded its domain, Carrie and Serbia's pupils constricted, and they instinctively assumed an offensive stance.

But before the two could act, Famiao, who had suddenly activated his domain, did not immediately attack. Instead, he apologetically addressed the crowd:

"I apologize, everyone. If what I am about to say gets out, it may cause some unnecessary trouble. Therefore, I have to activate my domain to ensure that the content of this conversation is not overheard by anyone with ulterior motives. I hope you can understand."

"Of course, considering the value of your time, General John, I will not go into further detail."

"The reason I intend to hand over these seven assassins of unknown origin to you this time is not only to express my apologies, but more importantly, I hope to obtain your assistance."

"I hope you can assist me in completing the reform plan within the church."

"!"

Upon hearing this, John was stunned, his expression filled with disbelief.

But after a long silence, he shook his head and refused:
“I’m sorry, Lord Famille, please allow me to refuse your request. I do not believe I am capable of assisting you in such a… sacred task.”

However, faced with John's refusal, Famille unusually lost his composure and spoke urgently:

"No, in my opinion, this task is best left to you!"

"!"

Seeing the wary expressions on everyone's faces, and seemingly realizing his lapse in composure, Famio took a deep breath, then forced a calm smile onto his face, and said earnestly:

“I know that this request seems too dangerous to you, and is basically impossible to fulfill.”

"But in fact, it's not the ambitious goal you imagine—to overthrow His Holiness the Pope and install a new one, or for me to ascend to the papacy myself." "In my plan, I don't intend to be an enemy of the Church. Instead, I plan to establish a new branch of the Church in a foreign land far from the power struggles of the Empire, and through renewing the trials of loyalty from the past, to enable the saints in this branch to achieve true purity of faith."

"Thus cultivating a group of true paladins who can dedicate themselves to the Lord and uphold the three principles of reason, oath, and loyalty."

"Instead of a group of heretics blinded by power, no longer capable of bearing the glory and grace of the state."

"Unfortunately, because we cannot determine exactly how many of the cult's high-ranking members have been corrupted by profit, I cannot ascertain which members of the empire's nobility have secretly made deals with those unclean individuals."

"Just when I was feeling distressed and confused about this, you, who had achieved a great victory and become the governor of Faoken, came into my view and showed me the possibility of restoring the sanctity of the glory!"

Meeting John's thoughtful gaze, Famille's smile deepened, and even his voice became fervent:
"As a newly promoted noble of the empire, you are different from those unclean ones; you are an absolutely just and holy being."

"And your experience of being attacked by heretics also indirectly confirms my conjecture."

"Therefore, in my opinion, the person qualified to lead the Order back to its holy form is none other than you!"

“And I think that all of this must be because the great Lord heard my prayers and therefore gave me guidance in the dark.”

"Ah, praise to Saint Lucifer!"

"..."

Looking at Famius, a fanatical believer who kept clasping his hands together and loudly praising God, John felt goosebumps all over his body under the other's burning gaze.

Although as a player, he knew from the game's storyline that the archbishop in front of him was an absolute fanatic.

But he never expected that the other party could be so crazy.

In order to purify their faith, the other party actually wanted to use his channels to upgrade the Faoken Order's office, which was originally just a formality to comply with the imperial territory construction regulations, into a branch.

Furthermore, judging from what they said, it's not just about setting up a branch.

Instead, they plan to develop this branch directly into the next holy site.

Furthermore, given the other party's plan to cultivate a pure faith, it's likely that within a few years, the future branches of the Faoken Order will be manipulated by the other party, empowered by the title of the most powerful bishop, led by the Order of the Radiant Hand, and aided by the corruption and factionalism of the original members.

This branch of the Faoken Order, which is pure to the extreme from top to bottom and composed of a large number of fanatics, will only become more holy in comparison.

At that time, all that is needed is to spread rumors among the public about the corruption of the church's high-ranking officials, and the Faoken branch church will be transformed into a true holy site of the church.

It's not impossible that they might even shut down the headquarters of the cult in Elena.

And Faum would thus be directly promoted from archbishop to the actual pope!
Furthermore, even if the higher-ups of the cult noticed any signs of trouble during the execution of the plan, she could withdraw at any time, sever all ties with Faoken, and simply find a mid-level manager among her fanatical followers to take the blame for her in the name of the cult, thereby clearing herself of any suspicion in the incident and ensuring that her position as archbishop remained unshaken.

No wonder this woman took the initiative to befriend him from the start, even at the cost of rejecting the conservatives and having her power reduced by the cult members, she insisted on handing over these seven prisoners to him.

If that's the purpose, then everything makes sense.

All I can say is that he truly lives up to his reputation as the ultimate fanatic who successfully betrayed the cult in the game and completely overthrew it.

This decisiveness is truly admirable.

At that moment, John, who had vaguely guessed the other party's true purpose, couldn't help but feel a hint of apprehension.

But after a brief moment of thought, he did not refuse this audacious request. Instead, he gave Famille a deep look, then nodded slightly in agreement.
"If this is your condition for handing over the prisoners, then I can agree."

Although Famous's actions were tantamount to betraying the Order and the Pope, what did that have to do with him?

On the contrary, he was actually hoping that the Order would fall apart as soon as possible. In that case, when the Allied forces attacked later, Faum, an unstable element who might betray the Empire at a critical moment because of the Order's 'impurity', could then turn against it.

The church may lose its motivation to betray others due to the premature split, and may even become an ally of their own side because of the establishment of a branch in Faoken.

As for whether the other party's development of churches will affect the native people of Faoken, and thus turn the people in John's territory into mindless fanatics, let's forget about that.

As a group of beings who, almost as soon as they learn to speak, learn the first word they have, "Great Sage," the second, "Beast King," and only the third, "Beast God," with even their parents ranking fourth.

Expecting orcs, who have been instilled with hostility toward humans from childhood, to worship human gods is less reliable than expecting them to worship Governor John.

After all, compared to the Holy Radiance Church, which only talks a good game and never provides any real subsidies, but instead raises funds from believers, Governor John is the one who truly gives money to his people and leads them to a better life!

Therefore, John was not worried about this at all; on the contrary, he thought it was a good thing that the church joined.

After all, with a group of fanatical believers tirelessly proselytizing day and night, he only needs to enact a law of freedom of religion within his territory to make the orcish people realize his greatness as governor through comparison.

This might even boost the effectiveness of his future policy decisions.

John felt he had no reason to refuse such a win-win situation.

After figuring out the key points, John couldn't help but let out a sly laugh in his heart.

But outwardly, he maintained a calm demeanor, extending his right hand towards Famius, and then smiled as he spoke:

"So, I think it's time we discussed the matter of the prisoner exchange, isn't it, my dear Lord Faum?"

"Yes, Your Excellency John, that's what I think too."

Famille smiled as John offered him his hand, a smile even brighter than before, his eyes filled with an unprecedented fervor.

She stared intently at John before her, a fleeting, almost imperceptible longing flashing in her eyes, but she forced herself to suppress it.

She then raised her soft, white hand and clasped it tightly in the air with John's right hand, thus reaching a mutually satisfactory agreement.

"despair!"

……

(End of this chapter)