Dark Wizard: Rise! My undead army!

The Imperial Palace, the Study.

The emperor sat at the table, with reports from all over the country spread out in front of him.

The clashes in Steel City, the strike in Steam Fortress, the riots in Gear Town, the suicide wave in Forge City, and the collective resignation of scientists at the Energy Hub.

Every report says the same thing: order is collapsing.

He rubbed his temples and looked at the Minister of Industry standing by the window. "What has Augustus been up to lately?"

The Minister of Industry turned around and hesitated for a moment. "Preaching, Your Majesty. Preaching in the Papacy every day, explaining things to dozens of people."

"Dozens of people?" The emperor's voice rose half an octave.

"Pagans elsewhere have tens of thousands of followers, while the archbishop I appointed only has a few dozen listeners?"

"He...isn't very good at these things." The Minister of Industry carefully chose his words.

"His Majesty Augustus believed that faith is something that will come naturally and cannot be forced."

The emperor remained silent for a long time.

Faint noises drifted in from outside the window; another procession was passing by the palace gates.

The protests have become more and more frequent in recent days. Sometimes they are believers demanding an explanation from the government, sometimes scientists are demanding funding, and sometimes it is just unemployed workers venting their frustrations.

The guards can maintain order, but who knows when things might get out of control?

"Bring him here," the emperor said.

An hour later, Augustus stood before the emperor.

He wore a faded black robe, his hair was neatly combed, and his face showed neither tension nor fear; he simply looked calmly at the emperor.

"Your Majesty summoned me here regarding church matters?"

"You're quite direct," the emperor said, leaning back in his chair.

"I will give you one month to unify the churches throughout the country. Just tell me what you need."

Augustus remained silent for a long time. "Your Majesty, faith cannot be unified by sword and spear."

"Then what do you rely on? Your few dozen listeners?" The emperor's voice suddenly rose.

"Augustus, look outside! Victor's merit coupons are being sold all over Steel City, and Neg is leading thousands of people to smash other people's temples every day. That old man Cliff is being driven crazy."

"If this continues, we won't even need a meteorite; we'll destroy ourselves!"

He stood up, walked to Augustus, and lowered his voice: "I will give you men, I will give you money, I will give you an army. I have only one request..."

"Quiet down in this country!"

Augustus looked into the emperor's eyes.

Those eyes held no imperial majesty, only weariness and anxiety.

He suddenly remembered forty years ago, when he had just become a judge, a mother came to him with her wrongly accused son, pleading with him. The mother's eyes were exactly the same as the emperor's now.

"I understand," Augustus said, bowing his head. "I need three men."

"Who?"

"Cliff of the Steel City, though he has few followers, has the most devout faith."

"Negro in Gear Town has the most people and is the most chaotic."

"And then there's that merchant Victor." He paused, "He's the most troublesome, but also the most useful."

The emperor stared at him for a few seconds, then turned and walked back to the table, took a gold badge from the drawer, and placed it on the table.

"This is the Empire's highest military authorization order. Whoever holds this order may mobilize any unit."

Augustus looked at the badge but did not reach out.

"There is one more person," the Emperor said. "Old General Wald, he has been retired for three years, but his hands can still move. I will make him your deputy."

Augustus finally reached out and took the badge. "Your subject obeys."

Three days later, a sign appeared at the entrance of the Supreme God Church in the eastern district of the imperial city, which read "General Assembly of the Supreme God Church of the Empire".

Two rows of fully armed soldiers stood at the entrance, their armor gleaming, their spears standing upright on the ground like two rows of iron stakes.

Passersby stopped to watch and whisper among themselves.

"Is war about to break out?"

"Who should we attack? Neger or Victor?"

"Who cares who he hits? Someone's going to be in trouble anyway."

The news spread very quickly.

That afternoon, Cliff of Steel City received a personal letter from Augustus.

The letter was very short, containing only one line: "By the Most High God, I wish to discuss the path of faith with you."

Cliff looked at the letter for a long time, sighed, put it in the drawer, and didn't reply.

Neg in Gear Town also received the letter.

He tore the letter up in front of the messenger, yelling at the top of his lungs, "What kind of bullshit Papacy is this! I am the messenger appointed by the Supreme God! Let him come to me himself!"

Only Victor replied, his words respectful and full of humility.

He said he was just a businessman, and that he opened the bank to deposit merits for believers, and that he had no ulterior motives.

He said he welcomes the archbishop to visit and provide guidance at any time, and he is willing to entrust everything of the church to the management of the Vatican.

After the messenger returned, Augustus looked at Victor's reply and remained silent for a long time.

He then placed the letter on the table and said to the clerk beside him, "Reply to him that I will personally visit Mr. Victor in the Steel City in three days."

The clerk was stunned.

"Sir, why don't you go find Victor first? He's the most cunning one. Nege's been pushing his luck. Aren't you going to deal with him first?"

Augustus shook his head. "Neg is a straight knife, and Victor is the hand that holds it. Cut off the hand first, and the knife will naturally fall."

...

Three days later, in the Steel City.

Victor stood at the entrance of his luxurious church, with hundreds of believers in uniform behind him.

He wore a black robe with gold trim, a huge badge hanging on his chest, and a smile on his face as he approached from afar.

"We are so sorry for not welcoming the Archbishop properly!"

Augustus alighted from the carriage, followed by only two people—a scribe and a guard.

He wore a faded black robe, which contrasted sharply with Victor's black robe with gold trim.

Victor's smile froze for a moment, but he quickly recovered.

"The archbishop is poor, which is admirable, truly admirable."

Augustus glanced at the magnificent church, then at the badge on Victor's chest.

"Mr. Victor, how much did this church cost?"

Victor was taken aback.

"These...the believers donate voluntarily, it's all from their hearts, from their very hearts."

"The sentiment," Augustus repeated. "And this badge on your chest, is it also the sentiment of the believers?"

Victor's smile finally crumbled. "Archbishop, what's wrong...?"

"I've come to talk to you about something."

Augustus entered the church and sat down in the chair facing the statue of God.

"Your church will be incorporated into the Vatican."

Victor's facial muscles twitched.

"Archbishop, although my church is not large, it still has tens of thousands of believers. I'm afraid they won't agree to merging it into the Vatican."

"Tens of thousands?" Augustus asked, looking at him.

"Mr. Victor, your donation coupons have been sold all over the country, and you have tens of thousands of believers. How much of their hard-earned money is deposited in your bank?"

Victor took a step back, his voice tense. "Archbishop, are you going to investigate my accounts?"

"No investigation." Augustus stood up.

"Keep your money for yourself, but hand over your church, your bank, and your donation certificates to the Vatican."

"From this day forward, the faith in the Most High God shall not be bought or sold."