Holy Light Cathedral, Great Hall of Light.
Pope Saint Ivan III was sitting on his large and gorgeous seat, a holy radiance emerged from mid-air, illuminating the space around the old man with a radius of several meters, while many bishops of the Church of the Holy Light Arranged in an arc in front of St. Ivan III, apart from that, there is no clergyman below the bishop in the Great Hall of Light. This is obviously a high-level gathering.
At this moment, Veronica opened the door, and under the gaze of the bishops, she walked to her own position on the pope's right hand, a position of utmost respect.
The bishops nodded to Veronica, and no one showed any displeasure because of her "lateness", at least on the surface. Veronica greeted everyone with a smile, and she exuded a warm and friendly atmosphere, just like every day in the past.
"Gentlemen and ladies, everyone is here," Saint Ivan III said, his voice was old and hoarse, but it could be heard throughout the hall, "Let's start."
Veronica glanced at the Pope. The old man was a little older than before. After the end of the last day of the stars, St. Ivan III's aging rate was greatly accelerated, and he was getting older almost every day than the previous day. Now he is already a very shriveled old man bent in the seat, he looks like he will die at any time from the outside, only those eyes that still flash with wisdom from time to time, as well as the sacred aura that constantly exudes, can make people feel happy. Aware of the still powerful power of this old man, and the majesty of living in the Holy Light sect.
The Holy Light appeared out of thin air and shone on the Pope. Veronica knew that this was actually a sign that life was coming to an end. When the holy light shrouded, it was the day that this old man would return to the embrace of the Lord forever.
However, no one will feel sad about this, including the Pope himself: this is a symbol of the highest glory, and it can be said that it is the most glorious and luckiest thing in the hearts of every believer in the Holy Light. Things, this not only requires an extremely pious heart, but also requires a very rare spiritual talent that can resonate with the source of the holy light, so Pope Saint Ivan III smiled in the shroud of the holy light, always with a peaceful and joyful mood, He glanced at Veronica with a smile, and said in a voice that was not very high but could be heard by everyone: "First of all, let us congratulate the birth of a new living saint, Veronica has passed the Lord's She has witnessed the glory of the Kingdom of God and returned to this world, she is the embodiment of the Holy Light, the most intimate child of the Lord."
This matter had already been heard by the bishops a few days ago, but today the Pope personally confirmed it, so the bishops who had been prepared applauded and paid tribute and congratulations to Veronica. Ronika returned the gift with a smile, and said calmly: "The holy light is with each of us."
"The official celebration will be held tonight. Then we will discuss the recent rampages of heretics," the Pope quickly changed to the next topic. "Those evil people are harassing the believers of the Lord. Behavior is the greatest blasphemy against the Holy Light."
One of the bishops stood up. He was wearing a tall golden crown, and his face was old and majestic. But in Veronica's eyes, he was nothing more than a holy torch like the others: "My lord, the cultist The activities are becoming more and more rampant. At present, in addition to the borders of the four borders, their clues have also appeared in the Holy Spirit Plain and even near the king's capital, especially the eternal sleepers. Horrific incidents of appalling horror, each of which went unnoticed until the victims appeared in large numbers."
"The Eternal Sleepers deceive people with illusions and lies, but the cunning of the heretics can only make the warriors of the Holy Light more determined," another bishop stepped forward, "Your Majesty, we have hanged and burned in the West and the North Killing thousands of heretics, and throwing more fools who were deluded by heresy into the Inquisition, our actions are heartening. More and more non-believers are realizing the greatness of the God of Light, and even have heresies. Believers come to seek refuge in the Church of the Holy Light, especially in the western region, and this situation is increasing."
"Infidels can also become the Lord's people," the Pope slightly opened his eyes with a smile on his face, "We welcome conversion from anyone."
"It's a good thing that our strength is increasing day by day, but the warriors of the Lord also need the support of worldly money to be well equipped to fight against evil," the third bishop stood up and said with a solemn expression, "Your Majesty, the new The additional crusaders have huge expenses, and the weapons of the paladins and the weapons of the battle priests are not enough, we need to find ways to increase the source of income."
The bishops discussed in low voices, and then a person stood up in the queue: "Your Majesty, I propose to increase the amount of offerings collected by churches in various places, and urge local lords and rich peasants to donate more property. They accept the protection of the Holy Light, and they should pay more. .”
"This year, the Holy Spirit Plain and the Western Territory have a good harvest, and the common people also have extra money in their hands. Before they are corrupted by these sudden wealth, we can persuade them to donate the extra money to the church in exchange for peace of mind. They need the support of the church." Holy water and blessings to cure sickness, drive away nightmares, dare not reject the Church."
The bishops put forward their opinions one by one, and these opinions had sufficient reasons and reasons. St. Ivan III did not interrupt, but just listened carefully. He didn't look at the stand next to him until almost the end of everyone's speeches. Veronica glanced at her: "What does our new living saint think?"
"Increasing offerings is not a long-term way, nor is it a way of stability," Veronica nodded, looking at the bishops, her voice was soft but penetrating, as if it could directly echo in everyone's heart , "The secular people will inevitably be addicted to money, and suddenly let them increase their offerings. They will not be grateful for the protection of the Holy Light, but will first hate someone for taking their property."
Someone among the bishops echoed Veronica's opinion: "It is not right to take extra money from people who have already converted to the Lord. It is true. You should think of other ways..."
"We can make those who were attacked by heretics, abandoned by alien gods, and converted to our Lord after receiving the protection of the Holy Light pay an additional ransom," the third bishop just said again, "They believe in the wrong It is the gods who have no resistance when threatened by cultists, and only remember to respect the holy light when they need it, so the 'atonement' is also reasonable."
Veronica couldn't help but frowned: "Will the ransom money become a threshold for those who originally wanted to convert to our Lord to be turned away?"
"We can set the amount of the atonement according to the property of the convert, such as one-third or one-half of the property," the bishop said with a serious face, "This is also a test that everyone can afford the atonement." , if they are still stubborn under such circumstances, it can only mean that they are too stingy and stupid, or their heart to convert to our Lord is not strong enough, such converts, it is a good thing to reject them.”
The bishops all expressed their approval for this brilliant plan, while Veronica just watched all this quietly, and said softly to herself: "Atonement..."
After a while, the discussion among the bishops ended, and the pope came to a conclusion: "Then this matter is decided, and the specific amount and execution method of the atonement will be handed over to Bishop Talendis to draw up. Next, we will How is the missionary situation in various places?"
"Our missionary situation in countries other than Ansu has not changed much. Tifeng's belief in the God of War has a deep foundation. All races in the Ogure Tribal Country believe in their original gods. The Gaoling Kingdom has the highest acceptance of the Holy Light, but Influenced by elf culture, there are mostly shallow believers there. As for Ansu, affected by the recent activities of cultists, our missionary work is progressing smoothly, and the number of believers in the southern, western and central regions is increasing rapidly... "
"What about the northern and eastern regions?"
"The missionary action in the northern region has also gone much smoother than before. Although the Wilder family has always refused to openly convert family members, in view of the situation where the cult is rampant, the Duchess of Victoria Wilder has relaxed the priests of the Holy Light's activities in the territory. restrictions. As for the east...it's still not good."
Saint Ivan III closed his eyes slightly, and whispered to himself softly: "The land of Duke Silas..."
"Duke Silas Roland is a staunch royalist, and he quite rejects missionary behavior on his land. Not only the missionaries of the Holy Light, but also missionaries of other sects are very restricted in his land. We're trying to find a way to break through with members of his family... with little success."
"Duke Silas Loren has a very strong control over the family. As long as his attitude does not change, the entire Loren family will not be shaken." The Pope shook his head, "There is no need to be impatient, just let nature take its course, they will eventually You will understand that the Holy Light is the only salvation for mankind."
The bishops lowered their heads and looked at each other subconsciously, but there was no commotion.
"Holy light is the only salvation for human beings" is a very sensitive statement in public. It directly challenges the "sacred covenant" made by various sects 700 years ago. However, this is the interior of the Church of Holy Light. , is a great hall of light without outsiders, so why not talk about it
What's more, everyone here thinks the same way.
After discussing most of the issues, Veronica looked at a bishop: "Bishop Meryev, is there any news about the southernmost pioneering territory?"
The bishop who was named replied: "The church has not invested much energy there, but recently a missionary has established a church there, and the progress seems to be going well."
"Did the ancient duke let the missionaries set up the church?" Veronica raised her eyebrows slightly, "This is really good news that the holy light has once again illuminated the world."
"May the way of the Holy Light illuminate all corners of the world."